A&P Test 4 (Nervous System) Flashcards
(118 cards)
cervical enlargement
due to nerves exiting the spinal cord and going to the arms
lumbar enlargement
due to nerves exiting the spinal cord and going to the legs
How many pairs of nerves are there?
31 total pairs
medullary cone
region where spinal cord tapers off
cauda equina
looks like horse hair
terminal filum
connective tissue that covers the spinal cord and holds it taught.
Meninges
dura mater, arachnoid mater, pia mater
dura mater
outer most layer, tough. Has epidural space - the space between the brain and the skull
arachnoid mater
middle layer, thin. have arachnoid traebeculi and granulations. Follows the contours of the brain very closely.
pia mater
inner mod flayer, attached to the nerve tissues
3 functions of the spinal cord
conduction, locomotion, and reflexes
spinal cord conduction
bundles of fibers (axons) pass info up and down
spinal cord locomotion
repetitive, coordinated actions of muscle groups
spinal cord reflexes
involuntary, stereotyped responses to stimuli (always the exact same)
S.C. ventral horn
larger than dorsal horn and where motor info exits
S.C. dorsal horn
smaller than ventral horn and where sensory info enters
S.C. white matter
full of myelinated axons
S.C. gray matter
has cell bodies and glial cells (NO AXONS)
S.C. nissl bodies
rough part of neuron w/ ribosomes (makes it dark)
S.C. central canal
hole down middle of the spinal cord, lined with ependygal cells
Spinal Tracts
Ascending (sensory info moving up) and Descending (motor info moving down)
decussations
an area where axons cross over (in medulla oblongata) particullary in the medulla pyramid where thousands cross. This is why the L side of our body is controlled by the R side of our brain
Contralatteral
nerves enter spinal cord and immediately cross over
ipsilateral
nerve stays on the same side of the body until it reaches the medulla.