The lateral vestibular nucleus (Deiters's nucleus) is the continuation upward and lateralward of the principal nucleus, and in it terminate many of the ascending branches of the

vestibular nerve The vestibular nerve is one of the two branches of the vestibulocochlear nerve (the cochlear nerve being the other). In humans the vestibular nerve transmits sensory information from vestibular hair cells located in the two otolith organs (the u ...

Structure

It consists of very large multipolar cells whose

axons An axon (from Greek ἄξων ''áxōn'', axis) or nerve fiber (or nerve fibre: see spelling differences) is a long, slender projection of a nerve cell, or neuron, in vertebrates, that typically conducts electrical impulses known as action pot ...

form an important part of the posterior longitudinal bundle (aka

medial longitudinal fasciculus The medial longitudinal fasciculus (MLF) is a prominent bundle of nerve fibres which pass within the ventral/anterior portion of periaqueductal gray of the mesencephalon (midbrain). It contains the interstitial nucleus of Cajal, responsible ...

) of the same and the opposite side. The axons bifurcate as they enter the posterior longitudinal bundle, * the ''ascending branches'' send terminals and collaterals to the motor nuclei of the

abducens The abducens nerve or abducent nerve, also known as the sixth cranial nerve, cranial nerve VI, or simply CN VI, is a cranial nerve in humans and various other animals that controls the movement of the lateral rectus muscle, one of the extraocula ...

, trochlear and

oculomotor nerve The oculomotor nerve, also known as the third cranial nerve, cranial nerve III, or simply CN III, is a cranial nerve that enters the orbit through the superior orbital fissure and innervates extraocular muscles that enable most movements o ...

s via the ascending component of the

, and are concerned in coordinating the movements of the eyes with alterations in the position of the head; * the ''descending branches'' pass down in the posterior longitudinal bundle into the

anterior funiculus In the spinal cord, the most lateral of the bundles of the ventral root of spinal nerve, ventral nerve roots is generally taken as a dividing line that separates the antero-lateral region into two parts: an anterior funiculus (or anterior column), ...

of the

spinal cord The spinal cord is a long, thin, tubular structure made up of nervous tissue that extends from the medulla oblongata in the lower brainstem to the lumbar region of the vertebral column (backbone) of vertebrate animals. The center of the spinal c ...

as the vestibulospinal fasciculus ( anterior marginal bundle) and are distributed to motor nuclei of the anterior column by terminals and collaterals. Other fibers are said to pass directly to the vestibulospinal fasciculus without passing into the posterior longitudinal bundle. The fibers which pass into the vestibulospinal fasciculus are intimately concerned with equilibratory reflexes. Other axons from Deiters’s nucleus are supposed to cross and ascend in the opposite medial lemniscus to the ventro-lateral nuclei of the

thalamus The thalamus (: thalami; from Greek language, Greek Wikt:θάλαμος, θάλαμος, "chamber") is a large mass of gray matter on the lateral wall of the third ventricle forming the wikt:dorsal, dorsal part of the diencephalon (a division of ...

; still other fibers pass into the cerebellum with the inferior peduncle and are distributed to the cortex of the vermis and the roof nuclei of the cerebellum; according to Cajal they merely pass through the nucleus fastigii on their way to the cortex of the

vermis The cerebellar vermis (from Latin ''vermis,'' "worm") is located in the medial, cortico-nuclear zone of the cerebellum, which is in the posterior fossa of the cranium. The primary fissure in the vermis curves ventrolaterally to the superior s ...

and the hemisphere.

History

Eponym

Deiter's nucleus was named after German

neuroanatomist Neuroanatomy is the study of the structure and organization of the nervous system. In contrast to animals with radial symmetry, whose nervous system consists of a distributed network of cells, animals with bilateral symmetry have segregated, defin ...

Otto Friedrich Karl Deiters Otto Friedrich Karl Deiters (; 15 November 1834 – 5 December 1863) was a German neuroanatomist. He was born in Bonn, studied at the University of Bonn, and spent most of his professional career in Bonn. He is remembered for his microscopic ...

(1834–1863).

References

{{Authority control Cranial nerve nuclei