Chapter 14 - Spinal Cord and Spinal Nerves Flashcards
Size and location of the spinal cord
- Slender nerve column
- About 45 cm long
- Starts at foramen magnum and ends between L1 and L2 (does not go into the sacrum)
- 31 pair spinal nerves
What system is the spinal cord part of?
cns
Four major structures of the spinal cord
- Bilateral symmetry
- Gray and white matter
- Central canal
- 2 grooves
Hole down the center of cord; continuous with brain ventricles; both contain CSF
Central canal
2 grooves in the spinal cord
- Anterior median fissure
- Posterior median sulcus
Swollen regions of the spinal cord
Enlargements
Two enlargements in the spinal cord
- Cervical enlargement
2. Lumbar enlargement
Inferior-most tip of spinal cord; cone shaped
Conus medullaris
Means horse’s tail; bundle of nerves inferior to spinal cord
Cauda equina
Inferior-most spinal nerve
Filum terminale
Gray matter has projections called ____
Horns
What does gray matter consist of?
Cell bodies, dendrites, and synapses
Cell bodies are organized into nuclei in gray matter into what?
- Sensory
- motor
Three interior horns in gray matter
Posterior horn
Anterior gray horn
Lateral gray horn
Two gray commissures
Anterior commissure and posterior commissure
What separates the commissures in gray matter?
The central canal
The tracts and columns in white matter
- Posterior white column
- Anterior white column
- Lateral white column
- Ascending tract = sensory
- Descending tract = motor
Three facts about meninges
- Membranes covering CNS
- Are similar in both brain and spinal cord
- Are split into layers called “mater”
Means mother
Mater
Three things superficial to Meninges
- Vertebrae consists of vertebral arches
- Epidural space
- Meninges connect to CT covering of spinal nerves
- Space between meninges and vertebra
- Contains BV and adipose
Epidural Space
- Tough mother
- Durable
Dura Mater
Location of the dura mater
- Deep to epidural space
- Superficial to subdural space
What is the dura mater stabilized by?
Coccygeal ligament
- Spidery mother
- CT looks like a spider web
Arachnoid Mater
Location of the arachnoid mater
- Superficial to subarachnoid space
- Contains CSF
- Delicate mother
- Light layer adhering to chord
Pia Mater
What does the pia mater form?
Forms part of filum terminale
Spinal meninges (superfisical to deep)
- Vertebra
- Epidural space
- Dura mater
- Subdural space
- Arachnoid layer
- Subarachnoid space (with CSF)
- Pia mater
- Neural tissue