Section of the Spinal Cord Showing Its Arteries

Description

Centered in the transverse spinal cord section, the gray matter forms the characteristic H shape, with broad anterior (ventral) horns and slender posterior (dorsal) horns separated by the gray commissure around the central canal. Surrounding white matter is organized into anterior, lateral, and posterior funiculi, with the posterior (dorsal) columns positioned between the posterior median sulcus and the dorsal root entry zone. Red arterial channels course along the cord surface and send smaller arterioles inward toward the gray matter, tracing the typical pattern of penetrating (sulcal) branches that run from anterior to posterior into the central parenchyma. Vessels also skirt the lateral aspect near the anterolateral sulcus where ventral rootlets emerge. This cross-sectional vascular emphasis matters because the spinal cord’s perfusion is not uniform: the anterior spinal artery territory preferentially supports the anterior horns and adjacent anterolateral white matter, while paired posterior spinal arteries favor the dorsal columns. Occlusion or hypoperfusion of anterior sulcal branches produces the classic anterior spinal artery syndrome, with motor weakness from anterior horn and corticospinal tract ischemia and relative preservation of dorsal column modalities. A clean depiction of penetrating arterioles makes the concept of watershed vulnerability intuitive. It is the common exam trap and the real-world ICU consult. Use this artwork for neuroanatomy lectures on spinal cord tracts and vascular territories, for neurology and neurosurgery teaching files on spinal cord infarction, and for textbook figures explaining why epidural or aortic procedures can precipitate segmental ischemia despite an intact cord surface circulation. Anatomical accuracy verified by SciePro's Medical Advisory Board.