Chalter 14 The Soinal Cord Flashcards
Spinal cord
Houses axons and some soma. Runs down the vertebral column.
Spinal nerves
Branch out from the spinal cord/ CNS
Grey matter in spinal cord
Where neuron cell bodies are. They have little myelin
This is the site of information processing and synaptic integration
White matter of the spinal cord
Has abundantly myelineated axons that course up and down the spinal cord
Carries signals from one part of the CNS or another
Posterior (dorsal) root of spinal nerve
Carries only sensory fibers
Anterior (ventral) root of spinal nerve
Carries only motor fibers
Gray commissure
Connects right and left side
It is punctured by a central canal lined with ependymal cells and filled with CSF
Lateral horn of gray matter in spinal cord
Visible from T2 through L1
Contains neurons of sympathetic nervous system
Columns or funiculi
Three pairs of these white matter bundles
Tracts or fasciculi
Subdivisions of each column
Ascending tracts
Carry sensory information up the spinal cord
Descending tracts
Carry motor information down the spinal cord
All nerve fibers in a given tract have a similar origin, destination, and function
Decussation
As the fibers pass up or down the brain stem and spinal cord they cross over from the left to the right side and vise versa
Contralateral
When the origin and destination of a tract are on opposite sides of the body
Ipsilateral
When the origin and destination of a tract are on the same side of the body
Does not decussate
Ganglion
Cluster of neurosomas outside the CNS
Enveloped in an endoneurium continuous with that one nerve
Posterior root ganglion associated with the spinal nerves
Among neurosomas are bound,es of nerve fibers leading into and out of the ganglion
Plexus
When a spinal nerve comes down the spinal cord and then meets up and connects with another spinal nerve
Brachial plexus
From C5 to T1
What is this area of the brachial plexus
The roots of the brachial plexus
What is the area of the brachial plexus?
The trunks of the brachial plexus
What is this area of the brachial plexus?
The lateral cord of the brachial plexus
What is this area of the brachial plexus?
Posterior cord of the brachial plexus
What is this area of the brachial plexus?
Medial cord of the brachial plexus
What is this nerve in the brachial plexus
Suprascapular nerve
What is this nerve in the brachial plexus?
Median nerve
Biggest nerve in brachial plexus
What is this nerve in the brachial plexus?
Musculocutaneous nerve
What is this nerve in the brachial plexus?
Axillary nerve
What is this nerve in the brachial plexus?
Radial nerve
What is this nerve in the brachial plexus?
Ulnar nerve
Dermatome
A specific area of the skin that receives sensory input from the pair of spinal nerves
They overlap their edges as much as 50%
Dermatome map
A diagram of the cutaneous regions innervated by each spinal nerve
Referred pain
Pain perceived ata allocation other than the site of the painful stimulus/ origin
