Chapter 13: Spinal Cord Flashcards
Functions of spinal cord (2)
- processing center for reflexes
- conduction pathway for sensory and motor nerve impulses
spinal cord is protected by____ (3)
- meninges
- vertebrae
- CSF
vertebral column provides?
a body fortification around the spinal cord
what are the meninges made of?
3 membranes that enclose the spinal cord
pia mater
- innermost
- thin, delicate CT that closely adheres to brain and spinal cord tissue
denticulate ligaments
thickenings of pia mater that suspend the spinal cord in the middle of the dural sheath
arachnoid mater
what does it resemble?
- middle layer
- thin and transparent
- loosely attached to pia mater
- looks like sheets of gauze
- fits over CNS like sleeve
subarachnoid space is filled with?
cerebral fluid
arachnoid trebeculae
attaches to pia mater and arachnoid
dura mater
- outermost
- tough, thick membrane in close contact with bones of cranium and spine (tubular sheath - dural sheath)
meningeal layer
- inner dura mater
- faces arachnoid
periosteal layer
- outer dura mater
- in contact with periosteum
dural sheath
hollow tube attached by trebeculae
subdural
btwn arachnoid and dura mater
epidural
btwn periosteum and dura mater
meningitis
symptoms
inflammation of the meninges
- headache, stiff neck, high temp, convulsions, ear ringing, projectile vomiting
spinal tap
what does it measure?
removal of CSF from subarachnoid space
- used to measure CSF pressure
- isolate causative microbes for meningitis
- introduce antibiotics
spinal cord begins ______ ends _______
as a continuation of the medulla oblongata
2nd lumbar vertebra (cord doesnt grow)
cervical enlargements
C3-T2 nerves that innervate upper extremities come from this this enlargement
lumbar enlargements
T11-L2 nerves that innervate lower extremities
conus medullaris
tapered portion of the spinal cord
cauda equina
nerve rootlets that come off the base of the spinal cord (conus medullaris)
filum terminale
fibrous CT continuous with pia mater
- attached cauda equina to periosteum of coccyx as a ligament called coccygeal ligaments
___ pairs of spinal nerves (total) are named and numbered according to what?
31 (62) region
level of the spinal cord they emerge from
why are spinal nerves mixed?
they contain sensory and motor fibers
cervical nerves
8 pairs
C1-C8
Thoracic nerves
12 pairs
T1-T12
Lumbar nerves
5 pairs
L1-L5
sacral nerves
5 pairs
S1-S5
coccygeal nerves
1 pair
Co1-Co2
spinal nerves are the paths of ?
communication btwn the spinal cord and most regions of the body
