A nerve root is the initial segment of a nerve leaving the central nervous system. It can be of two types
Cranial nerve root
The beginning of one of the twelve pairs leaving the central nervous system from the brain stem or the highest levels of the spinal cord.
Spinal nerve root
The beginning of one of the thirty-one pairs leaving the central nervous system from the spinal cord. Each spinal nerve root consists of the union of a sensory dorsal root and a motor ventral root.
Both of these come out of the spinal cord as the ventral and dorsal roots and merge to form the spinal nerve. The spinal nerve emerges from the spinal column through an opening between adjacent vertebrae except for the first spinal nerve, which emerges between the occipital bone and the atlas or first vertebra.
Outside the vertebral column, the nerve divides into branches or rami. The dorsal ramus contains nerves that serve the dorsal portions of the trunk carrying visceral motor, somatic motor, and sensory branches.
The ventral ramus contains nerves that serve the remaining ventral parts of the trunk and the upper and lower limbs.
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