Anatomy Mini Lectures Flashcards
Nervous System
Complex network of specialized cells which transmits information all around the body using electrical signals (APs)
Central Nervous System (CNS)
Brain and spinal cord
Peripheral Nervous System (PNS)
Nerves outside of the CNS
What Protects the Brain?
The skull, and meninges (dura mater, arachnoid, pia mater)
Superior/Dorsal
Referring the top of the brain (and back-side of the brainstem)
Inferior/Ventral
Referring to the bottom of the brain (and front-facing side of the brainstem)
Anterior
Referring to the front of the brain
Posterior
Referring to the back of the brain
Rostral
Referring to the part of the brain facing the head
Caudal
Referring to the part of the brain facing the tail (brainstem/spinal cord is caudal)
Sagittal Cut
Diving the brain into the left and right hemispheres
Coronal Cut
Diving the brain into the front and back (slices like a loaf of bread; divides into rostral and caudal halves)
Horizontal Cut
Diving the brain into top and bottom (diving the top of the brain from the part connected to the brainstem)
Dura Mater
The tough outermost membrane enveloping the brain and spinal cord (durable)
Arachnoid
Refers to the spider-like webbing of the blood vessels in the subarachnoid space. The subarachnoid space contains CSF
Parietal Lobe
Receives sensory messages from the rest of the body and controls memory of objects and their uses
Pia Mater
“tender matter.” It is composed of delicate connective tissue and has many tiny blood vessels. The pia mater is the only layer that clings tightly to the brain and follows all of its convolutions. Cerebral arteries and veins travel in the subarachnoid space, completely enveloped by pia mater. Smallest layer closest to the brain
Frontal Lobe
Thinking, planning, reasoning, (motor area within frontal love)
Temporal Lobe
Controls hearing, speech, and memory
Occipital Lobe
Sight; primary visual cortex
Gyri
Grooves (peaks) of the brain
Sulci
Shallow groove (valley) that surrounds a gyrus, contains blood vessels
Fissures
Large furrows that dive the brain into lobes, and also into two hemispheres as the medial longitudinal fissure does (deep sulci)