Brain Stem Flashcards
What do medullary pyramids contain?
Descending corticospinal tract fibers from ipsilateral cerebral cortex (specifically from the motor and premotor cortex)
Where does major crossing of the corticospinal tract take place in the medulla?
Pyramidal decussation
True or False:
The fascicles of the pyramidal decussation interrupt the anterior median fissure at the base of the medulla.
True. It’s the fascicles of the corticospinal tract that decussate in the midline
What cranial nerves exit at the pontomedullary sulcus?
CN VI, VII, VIII
What cranial nerve is associated with the pontopeduncular sulucs?
CN III
What structure lies in the basilar groove?
Basilar artery
What structures do the middle cerebellar peduncle fibers connect?
pons and cerebellum
What is the name of the junction of the medulla, pons, and cerebellum?
Cerebellopontine angle
Pontocerebellar fibers originate from what nuclei?
Pontine nuclei
How do pontocerebellar fibers travel to the cerebellum?
Fibers originate from the pontine nuclei, cross the midline, and travel through the middle cerebellar peduncle to the contralateral cerebellar hemisphere
The floor of the fourth ventricle is also known as…
the rhomboid fossa
What divides the rhomboid fossa into a right and left half?
Posterior median sulcus
What divides the rhomboid fossa into a superior and inferior portion?
Striae medullares
What structure divides the MEDULLA into right and left halves?
Dorsal median sulcus
True or False:
Both fasciculus cuneatus and fasciculus gracilis are descending sensory tracts to their correlating nuclei.
False; they are ASCENDING sensory tracts