How is the spinal cord organized?
Sections of the spinal cord cut perpendicular to the length of the cord reveal a butterfly-shaped area of gray matter with surrounding white matter.
The white matter consists mainly of longitudinal nerve fibers, carrying the ascending and descending tracts up and down the cord.
Midline grooves are present on the dorsal and ventral surfaces (the dorsal median sulcus and ventral median fissure).
The gray matter of the cord contains dorsal and ventral enlargements known as dorsal horns and ventral horns .
