Which statement is true about the ventral root?

Which statement is true about the ventral root?

• A. Is part of the dorsal root ganglion
• B. Contains autonomic neurons only
• C. Carries motor output
• D. Carries sensory input

Answer: (C)

The ventral root’s main job is to carry motor output from the spinal cord to muscles. Neurons with cell bodies in the ventral horn send their axons into the ventral root as efferent fibers that innervate skeletal muscles. This is different from the dorsal root, which brings sensory information into the spinal cord, and from the dorsal root ganglion, which houses the cell bodies of those sensory neurons. So the ventral root is not part of the dorsal root ganglion, and it does not carry sensory input. While autonomic fibers can travel in ventral roots, they are not exclusive to autonomic neurons; the majority of fibers in the ventral root are somatic motor. Therefore, the statement that the ventral root carries motor output is true.

The ventral root’s main job is to carry motor output from the spinal cord to muscles. Neurons with cell bodies in the ventral horn send their axons into the ventral root as efferent fibers that innervate skeletal muscles. This is different from the dorsal root, which brings sensory information into the spinal cord, and from the dorsal root ganglion, which houses the cell bodies of those sensory neurons. So the ventral root is not part of the dorsal root ganglion, and it does not carry sensory input. While autonomic fibers can travel in ventral roots, they are not exclusive to autonomic neurons; the majority of fibers in the ventral root are somatic motor. Therefore, the statement that the ventral root carries motor output is true.