The spinal tract of the trigeminal nerve (horizontal yellow shading) is composed of axons that have their cell bodies in the trigeminal (semilunar) ganglion. This pathway conveys sensations of pain and temperature from the face. The axons will terminate on second order neurons of the pathway that lie within the nucleus of the spinal tract of the trigeminal nerve - represented here by yellow stippling. Neurons in the nucleus give rise to the ventral secondary trigeminal tract, which is shown here crossing the midline to ascend to the nucleus ventralis posteromedialis (VPM) of the thalamus.