Chapter 10: Vocabulary

Question 1

acetylcholine

Answer 1

neurotransmitter chemical released at the ends of nerve cells

Question 2

afferent nerve

Answer 2

carries messages toward the brain and spinal cord (sensory nerve).

Question 3

arachnoid membrane

Answer 3

middle layer of the three membranes that surround the brain and spinal cord.

Question 4

astrocyte

Answer 4

type of glial cell that transports water and salts from capillaries

Question 5

autonomic nervous system

Answer 5

nerves that control involuntary body functions of muscles, glands, and internal organs

Question 6

axon

Answer 6

microscopic fiber that carries the nervous impulse along a nerve cell

Question 7

blood-brain barrier

Answer 7

protective separation between the blood and brain cells. this makes it difficult for substances to penetrate capillary walls and enter the brain

Question 8

brainstem

Answer 8

posterior portion of the brain that connects the cerebrum with the spinal cord; includes the pons and medulla oblongata

Question 9

cauda equina

Answer 9

collection of spinal nerves below the end of the spinal cord

Question 10

cell body

Answer 10

part of a nerve cell that contains the nucleus

Question 11

central nervous system

Answer 11

the brain and the spinal cord

Question 12

cerebellum

Answer 12

posterior part of the brain that coordinates muscle movements and maintains balance

Question 13

cerebral cortex

Answer 13

outer region of the cerebrum, containing sheets of nerve cells; gray matter of the brain

Question 14

cerebrospinal fluid

Answer 14

circulates throughout the brain and spinal cord

Question 15

cerebrum

Answer 15

largest part of the brain; responsible for voluntary muscular activity, vision, speech, taste, hearing, thought, and memory

Question 16

cranial nerves

Answer 16

twelve pairs of nerves that carry messages to and from the brain with regard to the head and neck

Question 17

dendrite

Answer 17

microscopic branching fiber of a nerve cell that is the first part to receive the nervous impulse

Question 18

dura mater

Answer 18

thick, outermost layer of the meninges surrounding and protecting the brain and spinal cord

Question 19

efferent nerve

Answer 19

carries messages away from the brain and spinal cord; motor nerve

Question 20

ependymal cell

Answer 20

glial cell that lines membranes within the brain and spinal cord and helps form cerebrospinal fluid

Question 21

ganglion

plural: ganglia

Answer 21

collection of nerve cell bodies in the peripheral nervous system

Question 22

glial cell

neuroglial cell

Answer 22

supportive and connective nerve cell that does not carry nervous impulses
astrocytes, microglial cells, ependymal cell, oligodendrocytes
can reproduce themselves as opposed to neurons

Question 23

gyrus

plural: gyri

Answer 23

sheet of nerve cells that produces a rounded ridge on the surface of the cerebral cortex; convolution

Question 24

hypothalamus

Answer 24

portion of the brain beneath the thalamus; controls sleep, appetite, body temperature, and secretions from the pituitary gland

Question 25

medulla oblongata

Answer 25

part of the brain just above the spinal cord; controls breathing, heartbeat, and the size of blood vessels; nerve fibers cross over here

Question 26

meninges

Answer 26

three protective membranes that surround the brain and spinal cord

Question 27

microglial cell

Answer 27

phagocytic glial cell that removes waste products from the central nervous system

Question 28

motor nerve

Answer 28

caries messages away from the brain and spinal cord to muscles and organs; efferent nerve

Question 29

myelin sheath

Answer 29

covering of white fatty tissue that surrounds and insulates the axon of a nerve cell. myelin speeds impulse conduction along axons

Question 30

nerve

Answer 30

macroscopic cord-like collection of fibers that carry electrical impulses

Question 31

neuron

Answer 31

nerve cell that carries impulses throughout the body; parenchyma of the nervous system

Question 32

neurotransmitter

Answer 32

chemical messenger released at the end of a nerve cell. it stimulates or inhibits another cell which can be a nerve cell, muscle cell or gland cell
neurotransmitters are acetylcholine, norepinephrine, dopamine, serotonin

Question 33

oligodendroglial cell

oligodendrocyte

Answer 33

glial cell that forms the myelin sheath covering axons.

Question 34

parasympathetic nerves

Answer 34

involuntary, automatic nerves that regulate normal body functions such as heart rate, breathing, and muscles of the gastrointestinal tract

Question 35

parenchyma

Answer 35

essential, distinguishing tissue of any organ or system

Question 36

peripheral nervous system

Answer 36

nerves outside the brain and spinal cord: cranial, spinal, and autonomic nerves

Question 37

pia mater

Answer 37

thin, delicate inner membrane of the meninges

Question 38

plexus

plural: plexuses

Answer 38

large, interlacing netword of nerves.

lumbosacral, cervical, and brachial

Question 39

pons

Answer 39

part of the brain anterior to the cerebrum and between the medulla and the rest of the midbrain

Question 40

receptor

Answer 40

organ that receives a nervous stimulus and passes it on to afferent nerves
skin, ears, eyes, and taste buds are receptors

Question 41

sciatic nerve

Answer 41

nerve extending from the base of the spine down the thigh, lower leg, and foot. Sciatica is pain or inflammation along the course of the nerve

Question 42

sensory nerve

Answer 42

carries messages toward the brain and spinal cord from a receptor; afferent nerve

Question 43

spinal nerves

Answer 43

Thirty-one pairs of nerves arising from the spinal cord

Question 44

stimulus

plural: stimuli

Answer 44

agent of change (light, sound, touch) in the internal or external environment that evokes a response

Question 45

stroma

Answer 45

connective and supporting tissue of an organ. glial cells are the stromal tissue of the brain

Question 46

sulcus

plural: sulci

Answer 46

depression or groove in the surface of the cerebral cortex; fissure

Question 47

sympathetic nerves

Answer 47

autonomic nerves that influence bodily functions involuntarily in times of stress

Question 48

synapse

Answer 48

space through which a nervous impulse travels between nerve cells or between nerve and muscle or glandular cells

Question 49

thalamus

Answer 49

main relay center of the brain.

Question 50

vagus nerve

Answer 50

tenth cranial nerve

Question 51

ventricles of the brain

Answer 51

canals in the brain that contain cerebrospinal fluid