Ch. 3 - Anatomy & Research Methods Flashcards
Neuroanatomy
The anatomy of the nervous system
Central Nervous System (CNS)
Is the brain and the spinal cord
Peripheral Nervous System (PNS)
- Connects the brain and the spinal cord to the rest of the body (ie. the nerves outside the brain and spinal cord)
- Part of the PNS is the somatic nervous system and the autonomic nervous system
Somatic Nervous System
- Part of the PNS
- Consists of the axons conveying messages from the sense organs to the CNS and from the CNS to the muscles (ie. controls voluntary muscles and conveys sensory information to the CNS)
Autonomic Nervous System
- Part of the PNS
- Controls the heart, intestines, and other organs (ie. controls involuntary muscles)
- Has 2 parts: the sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous systems
Dorsal
Means towards the back
Ventral
Means towards the stomach
Anterior
Toward the front end
Posterior
Toward the rear end
Superior
Above another part
Inferior
Below another part
Lateral
Toward the side, away from the midline
Medial
Toward the midline, away from the side
Proximal
Located close (approximate) to the point of origin or attachment
Distal
Located more distant from the point of origin or attachment
Ipsilateral
On the same side of the body (ex. two parts on the left or two on the right)
Contralateral
On the opposite sides of the body (ex. one on the left and one on the right)
Coronal plane (or frontal plane)
A plane that shows brain structures as seen from the FRONT
Sagittal plane
A plane that shows brain structures as seen from the SIDE
Horizontal plane
A plane that shows brain structures as seen from ABOVE
Dorsal roots (axon bundles)
Enter the spinal cord carrying SENSORY information
Ventral roots
Exit the spinal cord carrying MOTOR information
Dorsal root ganglia
The cell bodies of the sensory neurons are in clusters of neurons outside the spinal cord
Ganglion
- A cluster of neurons
- In most cases, a neuron cluster outside the CNS (ie. outside the brain and spinal cord) is called a ganglion
- A cluster inside the CNS is called a nucleus
Gray matter & White matter
- In the center of the spinal cord
- Densely packed with cell bodies and dendrites
- Many neurons from the gray matter of the spinal cord send axons to the brain or to other parts of the spinal cord through the white matter, containing myelinated axons
- GREY matter = composed largely of cell bodies
- WHITE matter = consists of axons
Sympathetic Nervous System
- A network of nerves that prepare the organs for a burst of vigorous activity (ie. prepare for “fight or flight”)
- It’s axons release norepinephrine, although a few, such as those on the sweat glands release aacetylcholine