If you stick your hand in a bucket of ice water for a few moments you will most likely feel both cold and pain sensations. Which pathway, from the spinal cord to the brain, carries this information? A. Dorsolateral B. Primary somatosensory C. Ventricular D. Dorsal column-medial lemniscal E. Spinothalamic

The correct answer is E. Spinothalamic

Explanation:

The spinothalamic pathway is, along with the medial dorsal-lemniscal pathway, the neural route by which information from the somatosensory system ascends to the brain. Its fibers are small in diameter and slowly conductive. It transmits information about touch and temperature to the brain. The sensations of pain and temperature captured by the free nerve endings of the skin are brought to the spinal cord through two types of fibers: type C (slow conduction) fibers, responsible for the prolonged pain of burns; and type delta A (fast conduction) fibers, which are responsible for raising the alert when faced with an acute pain stimulus.