Dendrite

DendriteThe nerve fibres and cell bodies of the afferent and efferent neurons of the CNS are located in the spinal cord. It is organised segmentally. From cranial to caudal these segments are:

cranial segment (pars cervialis medullae spinalis): segments C1 to C8

thoracic segment (pars thoracica medullae spinalis): segments T1 to T12

lumbar segments (pars lumbalis medullae spinalis): segments L1 to L5

sacral segments (pars sacralis medullae spinalis): segments S1 to S5

The coccygeal segment (pars coccygealis medullae spinalis) is only rudimentary in humans. It is represented by segment Co1. In the cervical and lumbar segments the spinal cords shows a macroscopically visible increase in diametre due to an increased number of neurons in these segments. These two parts are called intumescentia cervicalis and intumescentia lumbosacralis.