= Ventral root
A <ventral root> is a bundle of outgoing motor <axons> leaving the anterior side of the <spinal cord>. It contains somatic motor fibres and, at appropriate spinal levels, autonomic efferent fibres. It joins a sensory <dorsal root> to form a mixed <spinal nerve>.<Anatomy and Physiology 2e by J. Gordon Betts and others>[§13.4, Spinal Nerves]{ref}
For example, an <action potential> destined for a limb <muscle> can leave the <spinal cord> through a <ventral root>, then continue through a mixed <spinal nerve> and an anterior <spinal nerve ramus>. The directional separation near the <spinal cord> does not mean every later branch is motor-only. A <ventral root> is also distinct from the anterior branch formed after the roots unite.
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