Chapter 3 Flashcards
three major subdivisions of the brainstem
1) medulla
2) pons
3) midbrain
cranial nerves
twelve; attached to ventral surface of brain
- most serve sensory and motor functions of head and neck region
- responsible for facial displays of emotion
four main functions of the cranial nerves
sensory, motor, special sensory/motor, parasympathic
cranial nerves at the medulla
cranial nerves 12, 11, 10, 9, and 5
medulla
the caudal medulla resembles the rostral spinal cord in structure and function and contains the same pathways and sensory and motor nuclei
cranial nerve I
olfactory
cranial nerve II
optic
cranial nerve III
oculomotor
cranial nerve IV
trochlear
cranial nerve V
trigeminal
cranial nerve VI
abducens
cranial nerve VII
facial
cranial nerve VIII
vestibulocochlear
cranial nerve IX
glossopharyngeal
cranial nerve X
vagus
cranial nerve XI
acessory
cranial nerve XII
hypoglossal
trigeminal nerve (cranial nerve V)
- very long nucleus divided into several parts that extends down as low as the lower medulla and goes up as high as the midbrain
- motor from motor nucleus of trigeminal to muscles of mastication
- sensory divided into three parts: pain and temperature, tactile, position sense
three parts of the trigeminal nerve (cranial nerve V)
mesencephalic trigeminal nucleus, pontine trigeminal nucleus, spinal trigeminal nucleus
sensory functions of the trigeminal nerve (cranial nerve V)
- pain and temperature: from face to caudal parts of nucleus of spinal tract (ST)
- tactile: two-point discimination to chief (main) sensory nucleus; touch-pressure to rostral part of nucleus of ST
- position sense: from jaw muscles to mesencephalic nucleus
three divisions (branches) of the trigeminal nerve carry the sensations from the face to the brain
- opthalmic (V1)
- maxillary (V2)
- mandibular (V3)
opthalmic (V1) branch of the trigeminal nerve
includes the cornea
maxillary (V2) branch of the trigeminal nerve
includes the nose, upper teeth, and roof of pharynx
mandibular (V3) branch of the trigeminal nerve
includes inside mouth, lower teeth, anterior two-thirds of tongue
muscles of mastication
responsible for mostly jaw movement; chewing
central pathways for the trigeminal nerve (carries sensory information)
- pain fibers from spinal nucleus travel close to fibers from the spinothalamic tract (STT)
- tactile and proprioception fibers from main sensory and mesencephalic nucleus travel close to fibers from medial lemniscus (ML)
- all then reach the thalamus
axons from medial lemniscus, trigeminal tracts, and spinothalamic tract all terminate in…
ventral posterior nuclei of thalamus (VPI for spinal; VPm for trigeminal)
- from the thalamus, axons ascned in posterior limb of internal capsule and terminate in somatosensory cortex
trigeminal motor nucleus
corticobulbar fibers descend from motor cortex through internal capsule, both crossed and uncrossed, and then synapse in the motor nucleus of V (corticobulbar tract)
- efferents of motor nucleus of trigeminal are to muscles of mastication
sensory deficits of trigeminal nerve
- loss of pain and temperature on the face (ipsilateral)
- loss of touch-pressure on the face (ipsilateral)
- loss of position sense (proprioception) in jaw (ipsilateral)
- loss of corneal reflex
tests for sensory deficits of trigeminal nerve
- pin pricks, vibration, light touch on various areas of the face
- moving jaws and asking for direction of movement
testing loss of corneal reflex due to deficit in trigeminal nerve
- touch the edge of the cornea with a wisp of cotton; bot eyes should close, i.e., blink
- if the left side of the trigeminal nerve is damaged, hen touching the left eye’s cornea will not cause a blink; patient will not feel the touch; however, when you touch the right eye, both eyes will blink normally
motor deficits of trigeminal nerve
ipsilateral signs of muscle paralysis in the jaw (the jaw deviates to the side of the lesion)
test for motor deficits of trigeminal nerve
- ask the patient to bite down hard (you should see the masseter [jaw] muscle contract)
- open the mouth and move the jaw to one side, then move the jaw back to the center against resistance
- lesions involving the motor nucleus or the motor root of the trigeminal nerve result in ipsilateral muscle paralysis, causing the jaw to deviate to the side of the lesion
hypoglossal nerve (cranial nerve 12)
strictly a motor nerve (no other components) that supplies muscles of the tongue
- corticobulbar fibers to the hypoglossal nucleus extend from the motor cortex to the hypoglossal nucleus in the medulla
- efferent fibers from the hypoglossal nucleus innervate the muscles of the tongue (each side controls half of the tongue muscles, i.e., the ipsilateral side)
lesions in the hypoglossal nucleus/nerve
result in ipsilateral paralysis and atrophy of the tongue
- signs: the tongue deviates to the side of the lesion when protruded
two divisions of the accessory nerve (cranial nerve 11)
cranial part, spinal part
cranial part of the accessory nerve (cranial nerve 11)
motor; arises from the nucleus ambiguus and functionally blends with the motor functions of cranial nerve 9 and cranial nerve 10 (larynx movement)
spinal part of the accessory nerve (cranial nerve 11)
arises from the accessory nucleus in the lower medulla, supplies two muscles in the neck: the trapezius and sternocleidomastoid
testing cranial nerve 11
- primarily focuses on the spinal part and its innervation of the shoulder muscles
- place your hands on the patient’s shoulders and press down as the patient elevates of shrugs their shoulders, then retracts them
- place your right palm on the lateral side of the patient’s left cheek; ask the patient to turn their head to the left, resisting the pressure you apply in the opposite direction
- accessory nucleus damage would be permanent
four functional components of the vagus nerve (cranial nerve 10)
motor, parasympathetic, sensory, taste
motor component of the vagus nerve (cranial nerve 10)
from the nucleus ambiguus (NA) to the muscles of the pharynx and larynx
- efferents from nucleus ambiguus (NA) that exit and travel along the fibers of cranial nerves 9 and 10 and cranial portion of cranial 11 are to: muscles of soft palate, pharynx, larynx
parasympathetic component of the vagus nerve (cranial nerve 10)
from the dorsal motor nucleus to the visceral organs in the thorax and abdomen