Brain Flashcards
5 main parts
Cerebrum Diencephathon Midbrain Pons Medulla oblongata Cerebellum
Choroid plexuses
Specialized areas of capillaries in pia mater of the ventricles that makes CSF
Ventricles
4 chambers connected via ducts
The last one becomes the central canal of the spinal cord
CSF
Cerebral spinal fluid
Circulated through ventricles and into central canal of spinal cord and absorbed into blood
Maintains a stable ionic concentration in CNS
Cushions brain and spinal cord
Gives wastes a pathway to blood
Cerebrum
Lobes of hemispheres: frontal parietal temporal occipital and insula
Made of gray and white matter
Interprets sensory info, voluntary muscle movement, memory, intelligence, personality
Gyri
Elevated surface ridges on cerebrum
Sulcus
Shallow groove
Fissure
Deep groove
Cerebral cortex
Thin layer of gray matter covering the cerebrum
Contains most neuron cell bodies
Hemisphere dominance
One side of the cerebrum is dominant (left side in most people)
Corpus callosum
Connects and transfers info from nondominant to dominant hemisphere
Electroencephalogram ( EEG )
Shows electrical activity of the brain neurons
Meninges
Surround brain and spinal cord
Dura mater: tough outermost layer
Arachnoid: second layer with some lymphatic fluid
Pia mater: innermost layer bound to neural tissue
Epidural space
Between dura mater of spinal cord and walls of vertebral canals
Subdural space
Between dura mater and second meningeal layer
Subarachnoid space
Filled with CSF
Deep in arachnoid
Delicate web of collagen and elastic
Spinal cord
Controls spinal reflexes
Highway for sensory/motor impulses to the brain
Cervical enlargement
Supplies nerves to the shoulder girdles and upper limbs
Lumbar enlargement
Provides nerves to pelvis and lower limbs
Central canal
Narrow internal passageway filled with CSF
Posterior median sulcus
Shallow groove in posterior surface if spinal cord
Anterior median fissure
Deep groove in anterior surface of spinal cord
Dorsal roots
Contain axons of sensory neurons and bring sensory info to the spinal cord
Ventral roots
Contain axons of CNS motor neurons
Spinal nerves
Sensory and motor roots bound together to form the outside of the vertebral canal
Are mixed nerves
Posterior gray horns
Contain sensory nuclei
Anterior gray horns
Motor control of skeletal muscles
Gray commissure
Connects horns on either side of the spinal cord
Ascending tracts
Carry sensory info towards the brain
Descending tracts
Convey motor commands into spinal cord
Ganglia
Relay station for motor impulses
Basal nuclei
Gray matter in the hemispheres
Limbic system
In cerebrum
Emotions
Long term memory
Link cerebral cortex with brainstem
Diencephalon
Has switching and relay centers
Epithalamus
Thalamus
Hypothalamus
Midbrain
Connects diencephalon and pons
Controls visual and some auditory reflexes
Can sense pain touch and temp and send messages
Optic chiasma
Optic nerves cross
in midbrain
Pituitary gland
In midbrain
Sits in sella turcica
Makes hormones and milk
Pons
Connects cerebellum with midbrain diencephalon cerebrum and spinal cord
Controls breathing
Medulla oblongata
Inside foramen magnum and controls visceral centers and sneezing coughing and puking
Reticular formation
Gray matter that activates the cerebral cortex
if injured people will go in a coma
Cerebellum
Balance
Called arbor vitae
Damaged by drugs alcohol and strokes
Nerves to know
Optic: impulses from eyes Auditory: impulses from ears Phrenic: controls diaphragm Olfactory: sense of smell Vagus: heart beat
