The motor pathways are pathways which originate in the brain or brainstem and descend down the spinal cord to control the a-motor neurons. These large neurons in the ventral horns of the spinal cord send their axons out via the spinal roots and directly control the muscles. The motor pathways can control posture, reflexes, and muscle tone, as well as the conscious voluntary movements that we think of when we hear “motor system”. The most famous pathway is the so called “pyramidal system”, which begins with the large pyramidal neurons of the motor cortex, travels through the pyramids of the brainstem, (somewhere in here there is a coincidence), and finally ends on or near the a-motor neurons. This system is extremely important clinically, as strokes often affect the motor system. Therefore it is crucial to understand the anatomy of the motor pathway.