Brainstem and cranial nerves Flashcards
What forms the posterior limit of the diencephalon on the ventral surface of the brain?
Mamillary bodies
What is the floor and roof of the 4th ventricle made up of?
Floor = medulla and pons Rood = cerebellum
What is the rhomboid fossa?
Floor of the 4th ventricle which forms a diamond shaped space
What does the 4th ventricle converge into rostrally?
The cerebral aqueduct
What are the most prominent features of the dorsal aspect of the midbrain?
The superior and inferior colliculi
Which nerve emerges from inferior to the inferior colliculi?
CN IV - trochlear
What is the role of the cuneate and gracile fascicles?
Take sensory fibres from spinal cord into medulla - take sensory fibres as part of what is known as the dorsal column pathway
This pathway is important in taking proprioception and descriptive touch info up to the thalamus
What do the cuneate and gracile tubercles contain?
The fibres in the fascicles extend through the medulla and converge at the junction of the open and closed medulla to form the tubercles
These tubercles are small mounds which contain the cell bodies of these axons
What can be seen of the midbrain in a ventral view of the brainstem?
The cerebral peduncles
Which nerve comes away from the lateral extremes of the pons?
CNV - trigeminal
Which 3 nerves emerge from the cerebellopontine angle?
CN 7,8,9 (facial, vestibulocochlear and glossopharyngeal)
The midbrain contains the substantia nigra, what does this contain - what happens if it gets damaged?
Substantia nigra contains dopaminergic fibres important in movement
Damage to these fibres can result in Parkinsons
What is the vermis?
Structure in the midline in a dorsal view of the cerebellum - it also continues onto the ventral side
