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 (meninges) that surround the brain and spinal cord.

Question 4

Astrocyte

Answer 4

Type of flail 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 rein of the cerebrum, containing sheets of nerve cells; gray matter of the brain.

Question 14

Cerebrospinal fluid

Answer 14

Circulates through 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. (except the vagus nerve).

Question 17

Dendrite

Answer 17

Microscopic branching fiber of a nerve cel 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. Latin for “hard mother”.

Question 19

Efferent Nerve

Answer 19

Carries messages away from the brain and signal 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

Answer 21

Collection of nerve cell bodies in the peripheral nervous system

Question 22

Glial cell

Answer 22

Supportive and connective nerve cell that dow not carry nervous impulses.

Question 23

Gyrus

Answer 23

Sheet of nerve cells that produces a rounded ridge on the surface of the cerebral cortex; convolutions.

Question 24

Hypothalamus

Answer 24

Porton 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

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

Question 29

Myelin sheath

Answer 29

Covering of whit fatty tissue that surrounds and insulates that 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

Neurotransmitter

Answer 31

Chemical messenger released at the end of a nerve. It stimulates for it give it another self, which can be nerve cell, muscle cell, or gland cell.

Question 32

Oligodendroglial cell

Answer 32

Glial cell that forms the myelin sheath covering axons.

Question 33

Parasympathetic Nerves

Answer 33

Involuntary, autonomic nerves that regulate normal body functions such as heart rate, breathing, and muscles of the gastrointestinal tract.

Question 34

Parenchyma

Answer 34

He’s sensual, distinguishing to see you have any organ or system. The parenchyma of the nervous system includes the neurons and nerves that carry nervous impulses.

Question 35

Peripheral nervous system

Answer 35

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

Question 36

Pia mater

Answer 36

Finn, delicate inner membrane of the meninges.

Question 37

Plexus

Answer 37

Large, interlacing network of nerves.

Question 38

Pons

Answer 38

Part of the brain anterior to the cerebellum and between the medulla and the rest of the midbrain. It is a bridge connecting various parts of the brain.

Question 39

Receptor

Answer 39

Organ that receives the nervous stimulus and passes it on to afferent nerves.

Question 40

Sciatic Nerve

Answer 40

Nerves extending from the base of the spine down the thigh, lower leg, and foot.

Question 41

Sensory nerve

Answer 41

Carries messages toward the brain and spinal cord from my receptor; afferent nerve.

Question 42

Spinal nerves

Answer 42

31 pairs of nerves arising from the spinal cord.

Question 43

Stimulus

Answer 43

Agent of change in the internal or external environment that evokes the response.

Question 44

Stoma

Answer 44

Connective and supportive tissue of an organ.

Question 45

Sulcus

Answer 45

Depression or groove in the service of the cerebral cortex; fissure.

Question 46

Sympathetic nerves

Answer 46

Autonomic nerves that influence bodily functions involuntarily in times of stress.

Question 47

Synapse

Answer 47

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

Question 48

Thalamus

Answer 48

Main relay center of the brain. It conducts impulses between the spinal cord and cerebrum; Incoming sensory messages are relayed through the thalamus to appropriate centers in the cerebrum.

Question 49

Vagus Nerve

Answer 49

10th cranial nerve; its branches reach the larynx, trachea, bronchi, lungs, aorta, esophagus, and stomach.

Question 50

Ventricles of the brain

Answer 50

Canals in the brain that contains cerebrospinal fluid.