Rubrospinal tract

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The rubrospinal tract is a part of the nervous system. It is a part of the lateral indirect extra-pyramidal tract.

Function

It is an alternative route for the mediation of voluntary movement. It is responsible for large muscle movement such as the arms and the legs as well as for fine motor control. It facilitates the flexion and inhibits the extension in the upper extremities.

It is small and rudimentary in humans. In some other primates, however, experiments have shown that over time, the rubrospinal tract can assume almost all the duties of the corticospinal tract when the corticospinal tract is lesioned.

Path

In the midbrain, it originates in the red nucleus, crosses to the other side of the midbrain, and descends in the lateral part of the brainstem tegmentum.

In the spinal cord, it travels through the lateral funiculus of the spinal cord in the company with the lateral corticospinal tract.

External links

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Last updated on Thursday November 08, 2007 at 02:48:43 PST (GMT -0800)
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