The anterolateral pathway forms a reasonably compact bundle of fibers that ascend through the lateral part of the pons. Fibers of the spinoreticular division "peel off" at this level and terminate on cells of the pontine reticular formation. These cells, in turn, give rise to axons which ascend to the thalamus within the central tegmental tract. While the spinothalamic division may retain some somatotopic organization, it is not precise enough to be of clinical significance.