Dorsal root

In anatomy and neurology, the dorsal root (or posterior root) is the afferent sensory root of a spinal nerve.

At the distal end of the dorsal root is the dorsal root ganglion, which contains the neuron cell bodies of the nerve fibres conveyed by the root.

If the dorsal root of a spinal nerve were severed it would lead to numbness in certain areas of the body.