Goll's Tract

GOLL'S TRACT (Goll) is a conductor of deep sensitivity, located in the posterior columns of the spinal cord, where it occupies the most internal position near the posterior median fissure; laterally to it lies Burdach's bundle. The Goll's tract originates from the cells of the spinal ganglia, the protoplasmic processes of which extend peripherally and terminate in the deep tissues (bones, muscles, tendons, joints, etc.) of the lower extremities and lower parts of the trunk. The axon cylinders, as part of the posterior roots, enter the root zone and Lissauer's zone of the spinal cord, and then gradually bend inward and occupy the inner part of the posterior columns. The lower the fibers entered the spinal cord, the closer they are to the median line in the posterior columns (see figure). In the cervical sections, the Goll's tract is clearly demarcated from Burdach's bundle by the posterior intermediate sulcus. In the lower parts of the medulla oblongata, the Goll's tract is renamed the funiculus gracilis and gradually ends in a nucleus that has appeared among the fibers of the funiculus gracilis. The Goll's tract is the first, or peripheral, neuron carrying deep sensitivity (bone sense, muscle sense, sensitivity from joints, ligaments and tendons) from the lower extremities and the lower half of the trunk, and also partly tactile sensitivity. In diseases of the spinal ganglia, posterior roots, and in transverse damage to the spinal cord, this tract degenerates in the ascending direction. When this tract is damaged, disturbances in sensitivity are observed in the lower extremities and in the lower half of the body (tabes dorsalis, myelitis of the lumbo-sacral sections).