Which statement is true about the intermediate horn?

• A. It is a motor nucleus for limb muscles
• B. It is part of the autonomic nervous system with preganglionic cell bodies in the thoracolumbar spine
• C. It lies in the brainstem
• D. It contains sensory neurons for pain

Answer: (B)

The intermediate horn (also called the lateral or intermediolateral cell column) is where autonomic preganglionic neurons reside in the spinal cord. In humans, these cells are part of the sympathetic division and are located mainly in the thoracic and upper lumbar segments, giving rise to the thoracolumbar outflow. This is why the statement describing it as part of the autonomic nervous system with preganglionic cell bodies in the thoracolumbar spine is correct. It’s not a motor nucleus for limb muscles (that’s the ventral horn with somatic motor neurons), it isn’t located in the brainstem, and it doesn’t contain sensory neurons for pain (those are in the dorsal root ganglia and dorsal horn).