AAP Nervous System Flashcards
1
Q
What is the nervous system?
A
- consists of the brain, spinal cord, sensory organs, and all of the nerves that connect these organs with the rest of the body. These organs are responsible for the control of the body and communication among its parts
2
Q
What are the functions of the nervous system?
A
- NS conducts sensory information to the central nervous system (brain and spinal cord) by sensory pathway (sensory nerves)
- Processing and interpretation of data from the sensory pathway by the brain
- Initiate response of effector (e.g. muscle contraction) by sending signals via the motor pathway (motor nerves)
3
Q
What does the central nervous system consist of?
A
- brain
- spinal cord
4
Q
What does the peripheral nervous system consist of?
A
- cranial nerves (12 pairs in both human and dog)
- spinal nerves (31 pairs in human & 36 pairs in dogs)
- PNS provides communication between CNS and the body
5
Q
What is the function of the central nervous system?
A
- acts as the body’s control center
- coordinates the body’s activities –> nerve impulses travel through the neurons in your body to reach the brain
- all information must be sent to the CNS for integration and decision making
6
Q
What is the function of the PNS?
A
- made up of all the nerves that carry messages to and from the CNS
- similar to telephone wires
- CNS and PNS work together to make rapid changes in your body in response to stimuli
- peripheral nervous system
7
Q
What are the 2 major divisions of PNS?
A
- sensory (afferent) division
- motor (efferent) division
8
Q
What does the sensory (afferent) division do?
A
- nerves carrying information to the CNS
- somatic(skin, muscle, joints) sensory nerves carry sensory inputs from skin, muscle, joints, are involved in the voluntary control of body movements
- visceral sensory nerves carry sensory impulses (usually pain or distention) from the internal organs, glands and blood vessels to the central nervous system
9
Q
What does the motor (efferent) division do?
A
- nerves carrying information from the CNS
- Somatic nervous system –> voluntary; conducts impulses from CNS to skeletal muscles
- Autonomic Nervous System (ANS) –> involuntary; conducts impulses from CNS to cardiac muscles, smooth muscles, and glands; two divisions: sympathetic NS & parasympathetic NS
10
Q
What are the divisions of the ANS?
A
- sympathetic nervous system
- parasympathetic nervous system
11
Q
What does the sympathetic nervous system do?
A
- controls body in times of stress, such as the secretion of adrenal
12
Q
What does the parasympathetic nervous system do?
A
- controls the body in times of rest, such as sleep
13
Q
Structure of sympathetic NS and parasympathetic NS
A
- Sympathetic NS: nerves emerge from thoracic and lumbar regions
- parasympathetic NS: nerves emerge from the brain and the sacral vertebral regions (cranial-sacral)
- Sym and parasym NS usually have opposite effects on the same organ to balance the activity of the organ
14
Q
What are the types of cells in the nervous system?
A
- neurons (nerve cells)
- glia (glial cells)
15
Q
What do glia (glial cells) do?
A
- support, nourish and protect neurons like “glue”
