What is the Redlich-Obersteiner zone?

Answer: The Redlich-Obersteiner zone is an anatomical area that represents the junction between the central nervous system and the peripheral nervous system.

redlich-obersteiner zone spinal cord anatomy

The central nervous system, the brain and spinal cord, sends information to the muscles and internal organs, and also receives information from the rest of the body. Most of these nerves are paired and they branch off the spinal cord in spinal nerves. 

The interface between the branches of the spinal cord (CNS) and the spinal nerves of the PNS is called the Redlich-Obersteiner zone. Histopathologically, the Redlich-Obersteiner zone is marked by the change in the types of myelinating glial cells. Whereas the CNS contains oligodendrocytes, the PNS contains Schwann cells

This anatomical feature was named after the two Austrian neurologists Emil Redlich and Heinrich Obersteiner.