Spinal white matter

Organization and role

It surrounds gray matter and includes ascending sensory and descending motor pathways. Different tracts carry different information and do not all cross at the same level.

Clinical relevance and investigation

Inflammatory, vascular or compressive damage may alter walking, strength or sensation. The pattern of deficits helps interpret a spinal cord abnormality.

Points to consider

Location matters as well as extent. Motor and sensory pathways do not all follow the same course or cross at the same level. Strength, reflexes and different sensory modalities are examined for a coherent pattern of findings.

Role of TAGMED care

At TAGMED, assessment aims to understand symptoms, history and functional limitations. Manual care and osteopathy, motorized spinal decompression, laser and shockwave have different indications. The term described in this entry is not enough to select any of these modalities. Their relevance, limitations and possible contraindications should be discussed in relation to diagnosis and individual goals.

Related concepts and distinctions

These concepts belong to the same field, but are not synonyms.

• Spinal gray matter — Central spinal cord tissue rich in neuronal cell bodies, dendrites and synapses, organized into dorsal and ventral horns among other regions.
• Dorsal horn of the spinal cord — Posterior region of spinal gray matter that receives and processes part of the sensory information arriving from the body.
• Ventral horn of the spinal cord — Anterior region of spinal gray matter containing motor neuron cell bodies that contribute to the control of skeletal muscles.

Medical references

1. OpenStax, Rice University. Anatomy and Physiology 2e — The Central Nervous System.
2. Radiological Society of North America. RadLex Radiology Lexicon — terminology resource.

References document the topic; their inclusion does not imply endorsement of TAGMED services by those organizations.