dorsal horn of spinal cord

In each lateral half of the spinal cord a pronounced, dorsolaterally oriented ridge of grey matter forms the dorsal horn. Being the dorsal grey matter of the cord, it receives several types of sensory information from the body, including light touch, proprioception, and vibration. That information arrives from receptors in the skin, bones, and joints by way of sensory neurons whose cell bodies lie in the dorsal root ganglion, so the horn is the first central station on the sensory route rather than a peripheral receptor field. In the mature cord the dorsal region contains neurons that process and relay sensory input. Four subordinate structures are recorded beneath this entry, and its Latin designation is columna grisea posterior medullae spinalis.