Ventral root

Ventral Root

The Ventral Root or anterior root is one of two nerve roots that emerge from the spinal cord. Each ventral root, along with its corresponding dorsal root, forms a spinal nerve that carries motor and sensory information between the spinal cord and the body.

Anatomy

The ventral root is the efferent motor root of a spinal nerve. At its origin, it is a series of rootlets that emerge from the anterior aspect of the spinal cord. These rootlets coalesce to form the ventral root. The ventral root carries motor information from the central nervous system to the peripheral nervous system. The cell bodies of these motor neurons are located in the anterior horn of the spinal cord.

Function

The primary function of the ventral root is to transmit motor information from the spinal cord to the body. This includes both voluntary motor commands from the motor cortex, and involuntary motor commands from the autonomic nervous system. The ventral root also carries some types of sensory information from the body to the spinal cord, such as proprioceptive information about the position of the body and limbs.

Clinical significance

Damage to the ventral root can cause motor deficits, such as weakness or paralysis of the muscles innervated by the affected spinal nerve. This can occur as a result of trauma, infection, or diseases such as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) or poliomyelitis. In some cases, damage to the ventral root can also cause sensory deficits, although this is less common.

See also

• Dorsal root
• Spinal nerve
• Central nervous system
• Peripheral nervous system
• Motor cortex
• Autonomic nervous system
• Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis
• Poliomyelitis