Neuroanatomy: brainstem nuclei development: practice question

The best answer is D, Nucleus of the solitary tract. The sulcus limitans separates the alar plate laterally, which gives sensory nuclei, from the basal plate medially, which gives motor nuclei.

The nucleus ambiguus is a branchial motor nucleus from the basal plate.

The dorsal motor nucleus of the vagus is a visceral motor nucleus from the basal plate.

The hypoglossal nucleus is a somatic motor nucleus from the basal plate.

It tests Neuroanatomy: brainstem nuclei development in Anatomy. The nucleus of the solitary tract is a visceral sensory nucleus derived from the alar plate. The hypoglossal, dorsal vagal and ambiguus nuclei are motor and arise medially.

We tag it as an application question: it asks you to use a fact on a patient or a finding. The tag is our own editorial judgement, not an official difficulty rating, so read the reason for every option, not only the answer.

Learn every nerve by its route, its muscles and what a lesion looks like at the bedside. That one habit answers a large share of questions. Then use the flashcards and the other Anatomy questions on this site to test what stuck.

No. It is an original practice item (editorial status: sample, version 1). NextPrep does not publish recalled or leaked questions, and independent faculty review of this item has not been completed yet, so confirm important facts in a standard textbook.