The Rexed laminae comprise a system of ten layers of

grey matter Grey matter is a major component of the central nervous system, consisting of neuronal cell bodies, neuropil (dendrites and unmyelinated axons), glial cells (astrocytes and oligodendrocytes), synapses, and capillaries. Grey matter is distingui ...

(I–X), identified in the early 1950s by

Bror Rexed Bror Anders Rexed (19 June 1914 – 21 August 2002) was a Swedish neuroscientist and professor at Uppsala University. Internationally, he is best known today for his development of the system now known as Rexed laminae, but in Sweden, he is also k ...

to label portions of the

grey column The grey column refers to a somewhat ridge-shaped mass of grey matter in the spinal cord. This presents as three columns: the anterior grey column, the posterior grey column, and the lateral grey column, all of which are visible in cross-section o ...

s of the

spinal cord The spinal cord is a long, thin, tubular structure made up of nervous tissue, which extends from the medulla oblongata in the brainstem to the lumbar region of the vertebral column (backbone). The backbone encloses the central canal of the spi ...

. Similar to

Brodmann area A Brodmann area is a region of the cerebral cortex, in the human or other primate brain, defined by its cytoarchitecture, or histological structure and organization of cells. History Brodmann areas were originally defined and numbered by the ...

s, they are defined by their cellular structure rather than by their location, but the location still remains reasonably consistent.

Laminae

Posterior grey column The posterior grey column (posterior cornu, dorsal horn, spinal dorsal horn, posterior horn, sensory horn) of the spinal cord is one of the three grey columns of the spinal cord. It receives several types of sensory information from the body, incl ...

: I–VI ** Lamina I:

marginal nucleus of spinal cord The marginal nucleus of spinal cord, or posteromarginal nucleus, Rexed lamina I, is located at the most dorsal aspect of the dorsal horn of the spinal cord. The neurons located here receive input primarily from Lissauer's tract and relay informa ...

or posteromarginal nucleus ** Lamina II:

substantia gelatinosa of Rolando The apex of the posterior grey column, one of the three grey columns of the spinal cord, is capped by a V-shaped or crescentic mass of translucent, gelatinous neuroglia, termed the substantia gelatinosa of Rolando (or SGR) (or gelatinous substanc ...

** Laminae III and IV:

nucleus proprius The nucleus proprius is a layer of the spinal cord adjacent to the substantia gelatinosa. The nucleus proprius can be found in the gray matter in all levels of the spinal cord. It constitutes the first synapse of the spinothalamic tract carrying pa ...

** Lamina V: Neck of the dorsal horn. Neurons within lamina V are mainly involved in processing sensory afferent stimuli from cutaneous, muscle and joint mechanical nociceptors as well as visceral nociceptors. This layer is home to wide dynamic range tract neurons, interneurons and propriospinal neurons. Viscerosomatic pain signal convergence often occurs in this lamina due to the presence of wide dynamic range tract neurons resulting in pain referral. ** Lamina VI: Base of the dorsal horn. No nociceptive input occurs here, instead this lamina receives input from large-diameter fibres innervating muscles and joints and from muscle spindles which are sensitive to innocuous joint movement and muscle stretch to feed forward this information to the cerebellum where it can modulate muscle tone accordingly. *

Lateral grey column The lateral grey column (lateral column, lateral cornu, lateral horn of spinal cord, intermediolateral column) is one of the three grey columns of the spinal cord (which give the shape of a butterfly); the others being the anterior and posterio ...

: VII and X ** Lamina VII: intermediomedial nucleus,

intermediolateral nucleus The intermediolateral nucleus (IML) is a region of grey matter found in one of the three grey columns of the spinal cord, the lateral grey column. This is Rexed lamina VII. The intermediolateral cell column exists at vertebral levels T1 – L3. ...

posterior thoracic nucleus The posterior thoracic nucleus, (Clarke's column, column of Clarke, dorsal nucleus, nucleus dorsalis of Clarke) is a group of interneurons found in the medial part of lamina VII, also known as the intermediate zone, of the spinal cord. It is main ...

in the thoracic and upper lumbar region ** Lamina X: an area of grey matter surrounding the

central canal The central canal (also known as spinal foramen or ependymal canal) is the cerebrospinal fluid-filled space that runs through the spinal cord. The central canal lies below and is connected to the ventricular system of the brain, from which it r ...

. *

Anterior grey column The anterior grey column (also called the anterior cornu, anterior horn of spinal cord, motor horn or ventral horn) is the front column of grey matter in the spinal cord. It is one of the three grey columns. The anterior grey column contains motor ...

: VIII–IX ** Lamina VIII: motor

interneurons Interneurons (also called internuncial neurons, relay neurons, association neurons, connector neurons, intermediate neurons or local circuit neurons) are neurons that connect two brain regions, i.e. not direct motor neurons or sensory neurons. In ...

; Commissural nucleus ** Lamina IX: hypaxial (body wall muscles), lateral (in limb regions) and medial (back muscles)

motor neurons A motor neuron (or motoneuron or efferent neuron) is a neuron whose cell body is located in the motor cortex, brainstem or the spinal cord, and whose axon (fiber) projects to the spinal cord or outside of the spinal cord to directly or indirectly ...

, also

phrenic The phrenic nerve is a mixed motor/sensory nerve which originates from the C3-C5 spinal nerves in the neck. The nerve is important for breathing because it provides exclusive motor control of the diaphragm, the primary muscle of respiration. ...

and spinal accessory nuclei at cervical levels, and

Onuf's nucleus Onuf's nucleus is a distinct group of neurons located in the ventral part ( laminae IX) of the anterior horn of the sacral region of the human spinal cord involved in the maintenance of micturition and defecatory continence, as well as muscular ...

in the sacral region

References

{{Authority control Spinal cord