Which statement about the dorsal horn is true?

Which statement about the dorsal horn is true?

• A. It receives sensory input from dorsal root fibers
• B. It contains motor neuron cell bodies
• C. It is located in the ventral horn
• D. It processes autonomic signals

Answer: (A)

The dorsal horn serves as the entry and processing site for sensory information arriving from the body. Sensory signals travel along dorsal root fibers and terminate in the dorsal horn, where interneurons and projection neurons begin the processing that relays information toward the brain. The motor neuron cell bodies, by contrast, sit in the ventral horn, which is dedicated to sending motor commands to skeletal muscles. Autonomic processing is not the primary role of the dorsal horn; autonomic pathways are handled elsewhere (such as the lateral horn and related autonomic circuits). Therefore, the true statement is that the dorsal horn receives sensory input from dorsal root fibers.

The dorsal horn serves as the entry and processing site for sensory information arriving from the body. Sensory signals travel along dorsal root fibers and terminate in the dorsal horn, where interneurons and projection neurons begin the processing that relays information toward the brain. The motor neuron cell bodies, by contrast, sit in the ventral horn, which is dedicated to sending motor commands to skeletal muscles. Autonomic processing is not the primary role of the dorsal horn; autonomic pathways are handled elsewhere (such as the lateral horn and related autonomic circuits). Therefore, the true statement is that the dorsal horn receives sensory input from dorsal root fibers.