Dentate nucleus

The dentate nucleus ( dt core serrated or toothed core ), and nucleus lateralis cerebelli, is the largest core area in the cerebellum.

Anatomy

The dentate nucleus consists of a serrated band of gray matter and located in the two hemispheres of the cerebellum, the so-called Pontocerebellum. He is functionally closely related to the cerebellar cortex. He is by all cerebellar nuclei most lateral to the naked eye, is easily recognizable and has a bag-shaped opening, the hilum is called the dentate nuclei. In humans, the diameter of the core from about 1.6 to 2.6 cm, its wall thickness between 0.3 and 0.6 mm. Inside the core structure is white matter, which is the efferent emerging from the hilum nerve fibers of the core. The afferent fibers in approaching the convex outer side of, on average, representing the image as a U- shaped folded ribbon core. Medial to him is to be found in each cerebellar hemisphere in each case the nucleus emboliform.

Projections

The dentate nucleus projected to the contralateral red nucleus pars parvocellularis, the thalamus and the nuclei nervi oculomotorii. The nerve fiber bundles, which ends in the nucleus ruber is also referred to as fasciculus dentatorubralis, runs superior cerebellar peduncle and forms part of the tractus cerebellorubralis. From the parvocellular portion of the red nucleus attract rubrooliväre fibers of the central tegmental tract to the inferior olivary nucleus.

Furthermore, motor projections from the Pontocerebellum in the nucleus dentatus be switched and then, also made on the superior cerebellar peduncle, as tract dentatothalamicus directed to the dorsal portions of the ventrolateral thalamus and ventroanterioren, about the connections to the motor cortex. The tract dentatothalamicus forms the main component of the tractus cerebellothalamicus, the midbrain after entry into the tegmentum also cruises on the contralateral side.