C1: Spinal cord and spinal nerves Flashcards
How many vertebrae?
30
How many cervical vertebrae?
7
How many thoracic vertebrae?
12
How many lumbar vertebrae?
5
How many sacral vertebrae?
5
How many coccygeal vertebrae?
One
How many spinal cord segments?
31
Which vertebral route gains a segment?
Cervical
Path of first spinal nerve
Goes out of vertebral canal
Between base of skull and above first cervical vertebra
Spinal nerves above or below for cervical?
Above
Which one is not above cervical vertebrae?
C8 nerve goes above T1 but below CVII - inf. to pedicle
why is cervical part of spinal cord larger than thoracic?
Brachial plexus comes from cervical part
What is cervical enlargement?
To fit larger/more numerous spinal nerves
Other spinal enlargement?
Lumbar
Information contained within dorsal rootlets
Sensory
Afferent
Information contained within ventral rootlets
Motor
Efferent
Where does spinal cord finish?
L1/L2
What is the cauda equina?
A cluster of rootlets inf. to the spinal cord
What is the filum terminale?
One fine strand of pia mater which attaches to the coccyx - remnant of spinal cord development
What does pia mater make within the vertebrae?
Denticulate ligaments
Which space does CSF travel in?
Subarachnoid space
How does CSF get to SAS?
lateral and median apertures
What seperates the periosteal layer from the meningeal layer at the cranial cavity?
Epidural, fat-filled space preventing fusion
How would you recognise a cervical vertebrae?
Bifid spinous process and transverse process
Function of denticulate ligaments
Stabilise spinal cord
what must you remember to do for a spinal?
Pierces dura mater
Releases CSF everywhere
Effects whole spinal cord
Feet must be down or CSF goes to brain stem which will paralyse it
What grows faster? Vertebral canal or spinal cord?
Vertebral canal - hence spinal cord left shorter
Spinal cord finishes where at birth?
L3
Spinal cord finishes where at adulthood?
L1/L2
What has the spinal cord left after development?
Cauda equina - it’s rootlets
Filum terminale
Collectively called lumbar cistern
White matter contains what?
Tracts i.e. axons
Myelinated so white
Grey matter contains what?
Cell bodies of those axons
Lateral grey horn comes out at which roots
T1-L2
S2-S4 - pelvic splanchnic
Autonomic nerves
What type of nerve fibres do spinal nerves have?
Mixed - has both ventral and dorsal roots
Dorsal column runs…
Ipsilaterally
Spinothalamic tract runs…
Contralaterally
Lateral Corticospinal runs…
Ipsilaterally
Ventral corticospinal runs…
Contralaterally
What does corticospinal tract do?
Voluntary movement
