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Medical Definition of Anterolateral system
1. A composite bundle of fibres, located in the ventrolateral part of the lateral funiculus, containing spinothalamic, spinohypothalamic, spinoreticular, and spinomesencephalic (spinotectal, spinal to periaqueductal grey, etc.) fibres; occupies the combined areas of the spinal white matter historically divided into anterior and lateral spinothalamic tracts; located in white matter ventral to the denticulate ligament, hence the anatomical basis for the anterolateral cordotomy; concerned with the transmission of nociceptive and thermal information and with crude (nondiscriminative) touch. (05 Mar 2000)