Final answer:
The dorsal horn, dorsal column-medial lemniscal pathway, nucleus gracilis or cuneatus are parts of a sensory pathway in the nervous system that carries touch and proprioceptive information from the body to the brain, with fibers decussating at the medulla and synapsing at the thalamus before reaching the cerebral cortex.
Step-by-step explanation:
The dorsal column-medial lemniscal pathway is a sensory pathway that transmits touch, vibration, and proprioceptive sensations from the body to the brain. It consists of three successive neurons starting with primary sensory neurons entering the dorsal horn of the spinal cord. Fibers from the lower body and legs form the fasciculus gracilis and synapse at the nucleus gracilis; fibers from the upper body and arms form the fasciculus cuneatus and synapse at the nucleus cuneatus in the medulla oblongata.
At these medullary nuclei, the second neuron in the pathway decussates, or crosses the midline, before ascending as part of the medial lemniscus to the thalamus, where each fiber synapses with the third neuron. Subsequent projections reach the postcentral gyrus of the cerebral cortex, facilitating the conscious perception of somatosensory stimuli. This orderly sensory pathway enables precise localization and discriminative touch for bodily sensations.