Ventral trigeminal tract
The ventral trigeminal tract, ventral trigeminothalamic tract, anterior trigeminal tract, or anterior trigeminothalamic tract, is a tract composed of second order neuronal axons. These fibers carry sensory information about discriminative and crude touch, conscious proprioception, pain, and temperature from the head, face, and oral cavity. The ventral trigeminal tract connects the two major components of the brainstem trigeminal complex – the principal, or main sensory nucleus and the spinal trigeminal nucleus, to the ventral posteromedial nucleus of the thalamus.
The ventral trigeminal tract is also called the anterior trigeminal lemniscus.Structure
The first order neurons enter the pons and synapse in the principal nucleus or spinal trigeminal nucleus. Axons of the second order neurons cross the midline and terminate in the ventral posteromedial nucleus of the contralateral thalamus. The third order neuron in the thalamus then connects to the sensory cortex of the postcentral gyrus.
