A&P Test 4 (Nervous System) Flashcards
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.
Nomenclature of Spinal Tracts
1st part is origin, 2nd part is destination
CNS Ascending Pathway 1
involves deep touch, vibrations, limb movements, and positioning (propriorecption). The fascicles gracilius and cutaeneous carry the signals from legs and arms/neck (decussation in 2nd order of medulla)
CNS Ascending Pathway 2
spinothalymic tract; pain, pressure, temp, light touch, tickle, and itch (decussation in spinal cord)
Afferent Peripheral NS
sensory divisions, carries signals from receptors to the CNS (somatic = skin, muscles, bones, and joints) and (visceral = organs)
Efferent Peripheral NS
motor division carries signals from the CNS to the effectors
somatic = skeletal muscles) and (visceral = cardiac, smooth and glands
mixed nerves in PNS
carry sensory info up and motor info down (very common)
3 layers of the PNS
epineurium (outer most, covers whole nerve), perineurium (middle, covers axon cluster), and endonerium (inner, covers individual axons)
Ganglia in the Peripheral NS
cluster of neuron cell bodies, sensory nerves go up thru dorsal root ganglia (no synapsing), autonomic ganglia contains the synapse and pre ganglionic fibers
Spinal Nerve Plexus
areas where lots of nerves cross and mix up
phrenic SNP
cervical plexus in diaphragm (C1-C5)
median SNP
center of palm, gives us carpal tunnel (C6-T1)
ulnar PNS
funny bone, shakes pinky and ring finger (C6-T1)
radial PNS
controls radial forearm muscles (C6-T1)
femoral PNS
BIG, supplies leg with blood (L1-L4)
sciatic PNS
largest nerve in the body (L4-S4)
pudendal
goes to reproductive organs (L4-S4)
dermatone
area ok skin that sends sensory info to the spinal cord, the edges of a dermatome overlap up to 50%
reflexes
quick, involuntary stereotyped reactions of glands/muscles. (it is an autonomic response to sensory info)
Functions of Reflexes
stimulation of receptors, afferent fibers carry signals to spinal cord, interneurons integrate the info, efferent fibers carry impulses to effectors
Stages of the Reflex Arc
central canal lined by epyendimal, white matter is myelinated axons moving up and down, info into dorsal and out of ventral, all synapses occur in the gray matter (tons of neurons)
The stretch reflex
when a muscle is stretched, it contracts and maintains in increased tone (helps with posture)
reciprocal inhibition
prevents muscles from working against each other
muscle spindles
sense organs that monitor length of the skeletal muscles. highly modified muscle cells. instead of lots of myofibrils, only a few that send all of the signals