Corticospinal Tract

3D Model

The motor cortex communicates with skeletal muscles through the Corticospinal Tract allowing us to move our bodies. The upper motor neurons travel down from the primary and premotor cortices through the posterior limb of the internal capsule. They continue down the anterior of the medulla forming the pyramids. At the base of the brain stem, most upper motor neurons cross the midline to become the Lateral Corticospinal Tract of the spinal cord. The remaining axons continue to descend as the Anterior Corticospinal Tract. In the spinal cord, upper motor neurons synapse on the lower motor neurons in the anterior horn of the grey matter. The lower motor neuron axons exit the spinal cord via the ventral root to enter into the spinal nerves serving skeletal muscles.