Chapter 2 vocabulary

Question 1

Limbic system

Answer 1

a complex system of nerves and networks in the brain, involving several areas near the edge of the cortex concerned with instinct and mood. It controls the basic emotions (fear, pleasure, anger) and drives (hunger, sex, dominance, care of offspring)

Question 2

Anterolateral pathways

Answer 2

sensory pathways that convey pain, temperature sense, and crude touch

Question 3

Posterior column pathways

Answer 3

sensory pathways that convey proprioception, vibration sense, and fine, discriminative touch

Question 4

Corticospinal tract

Answer 4

the most important motor pathway for voluntary movement in humans

Question 5

Homunculus

Answer 5

a very small human or humanoid creature

Question 6

Parietal lobes

Answer 6

either of the paired lobes of the brain at the top of the head, including areas concerned with the reception and correlation of sensory information

Question 7

Frontal lobes

Answer 7

each of the paired lobes of the brain lying immediately behind the forehead, including areas concerned with behavior, learning, personality, and voluntary movement

Question 8

Temporal lobes

Answer 8

each of the paired lobes of the brain lying beneath the temples, including areas concerned with the understanding of speech

Question 8

Occipital lobes

Answer 8

the rearmost lobe in each cerebral hemisphere of the brain

Question 9

Corpus callosum

Answer 9

a broad band of nerve fibers joining the two hemispheres of the brain

Question 10

Cranial nerves

Answer 10

each of twelve pairs of nerves which arise directly from the brain, not from the spinal cord, and pass through separate apertures in the skull

Question 11

Efferent

Answer 11

conducted or conducting outward or away from something (for nerves, the central nervous system; for blood vessels, the organ supplied)

Question 12

Afferent

Answer 12

conducting or conducted inward or toward something (for nerves, the central nervous system; for blood vessels, the organ supplied)

Question 13

Thalamus

Answer 13

either of two masses of gray matter lying between the cerebral hemispheres on either side of the third ventricle, relaying sensory information and acting as a center for pain perception

Question 14

Basal ganglia

Answer 14

a group of structures linked to the thalamus in the base of the brain and involved in coordination of movement

Question 15

Gray matter

Answer 15

the darker tissue of the brain and spinal cord, consisting mainly of nerve cell bodies and branching dendrites

Question 16

White matter

Answer 16

the paler tissue of the brain and spinal cord, consisting mainly of nerve fibers with their myelin sheaths

Question 17

Synapses

Answer 17

a junction between two nerve cells, consisting of a minute gap across which impulses pass by diffusion of a neurotransmitter

Question 18

Dendrites

Answer 18

a short branched extension of a nerve cell, along which impulses received from other cells at synapses are transmitted to the cell body

Question 19

Axons

Answer 19

the long threadlike part of a nerve cell along which impulses are conducted from the cell body to other cells

Question 20

Cell body

Answer 20

a cell of a unicellular organism, constituting its entire body

Question 21

Glia

Answer 21

the connective tissue of the nervous system, consisting of several different types of cell associated with neurons

Question 22

Neurons

Answer 22

a specialized cell transmitting nerve impulses; a nerve cell

Question 23

Rostral

Answer 23

situated or occurring near the front end of the body, especially in the region of the nose and mouth or (in an embryo) near the hypophyseal region

Question 24

Dorsal

Answer 24

of, on, or relating to the upper side or back of an animal, plant, or organ

Question 25

Caudal

Answer 25

of or like a tail

Question 26

Ventral

Answer 26

of, on, or relating to the underside of an animal or plant; abdominal

Question 27

Rhombencephalon

Answer 27

embryological name for the hindbrain and contains the metencephalon and the myelencephalon

Question 28

Mesencephalon

Answer 28

embryological name for the midbrain

Question 29

Prosencephalon

Answer 29

embryological name for the forebrain and contains both the telencephalon and the diencephalon

Question 30

Myelencephalon

Answer 30

the caudal division of the rhombencephalon (hindbrain) in the vertebrate embryo

Question 31

Metencephalon

Answer 31

the anterior division of the rhombencephalon (hindbrain) in the vertebrate embryo

Question 32

Diencephalon

Answer 32

the caudal (posterior) part of the forebrain, containing the epithalamus, thalamus, hypothalamus, and ventral thalamus and the third ventricle

Question 33

Telencephalon

Answer 33

the most highly developed and anterior part of the forebrain, consisting chiefly of the cerebral hemispheres

Question 34

Thalamus

Answer 34

either of two masses of gray matter lying between the cerebral hemispheres on either side of the third ventricle, relaying sensory information and acting as a center for pain perception

Question 35

Hypothalamus

Answer 35

a region of the forebrain below the thalamus which coordinates both the autonomic nervous system and the activity of the pituitary, controlling body temperature, thirst, hunger, and other homeostatic systems, and involved in sleep and emotional activity

Question 36

Cerebellum

Answer 36

the part of the brain at the back of the skull in vertebrates. Its function is to coordinate and regulate muscular activity

Question 37

Pons

Answer 37

the part of the brainstem that links the medulla oblongata and the thalamus

Question 38

Midbrain

Answer 38

a small central part of the brainstem, developing from the middle of the primitive or embryonic brain

Question 39

Medulla

Answer 39

the inner region of an organ or tissue, especially when it is distinguishable from the outer region or cortex (as in a kidney, an adrenal gland, or hair)

Question 39

Brainstem

Answer 39

the central trunk of the mammalian brain, consisting of the medulla oblongata, pons, and midbrain, and continuing downward to form the spinal cord

Question 40

Dura

Answer 40

the tough outermost membrane enveloping the brain and spinal cord

Question 41

Arachnoid

Answer 41

like a spider or arachnid

Question 42

Pia

Answer 42

the delicate innermost membrane enveloping the brain and spinal cord

Question 43

Meninges

Answer 43

the three membranes (the dura mater, arachnoid, and pia mater) that line the skull and vertebral canal and enclose the brain and spinal cord

Question 44

Choroid plexus

Answer 44

a network of blood vessels in each ventricle of the brain. It is derived from the pia mater and produces the cerebrospinal fluid

Question 45

Neural tube

Answer 45

(in an embryo) a hollow structure from which the brain and spinal cord form. Defects in its development can result in congenital disorders such as spina bifida.

Question 46

Cerebrospinal fluid

Answer 46

clear watery fluid which fills the space between the arachnoid membrane and the pia mater

Question 47

Ventricles

Answer 47

a hollow part or cavity in an organ

Question 48

Peripheral nervous system

Answer 48

a component of the human nervous system comprised of the cranial nerves and ganglia, spinal nerves and dorsal root ganglia, sympathetic and parasympathetic nerves and ganglia, and the enteric nervous system

Question 49

Central nervous system

Answer 49

a component of the human nervous system comprised of the brain and spinal cord