Dorsal nucleus of Clarke

Clarke's nucleus is a small section of grey matter located in lamina VII of the intermediate zone spinal cord which is found ventral to the gracile column and cuneate column and is involved in unconscious proprioception. It is found at the level of T1-L2 (lumbar vertebrae) on the spinal cord.

Clarke's nucleus is the origin of the dorsal spinocerebellar tract. Axons from cell bodies in the dorsal nucleus of Clarke travel through the ipsilateral lateral funiculus via the restiform body on their way to the cerebellum.

Path
It acts as a way in which stretch receptors and other mechanoreceptive information from the leg reaches the ipsilateral cerebellar vermis and intermediate zone via the dorsal spinocerebellar tract. Primary sensory neurons in the dorsal root ganglia synapse on secondary sensory neurons in the nucleus of Clarke, after which the fibers ascend ipsilaterally to the cerebellum via the inferior cerebellar peduncles.

Eponym
Clarke's nucleus was named after British neurologist Jacob Augustus Lockhart Clarke (1817-1880).