Chapter 5: The Nervous System Flashcards
Human Movement System
The collective components and structures that work together to move the body: muscular, skeletal, and nervous systems.
Kinetic Chain
A concept that describes the human body as a chain of interdependent links that work together to perform movement.
Nervous System
A network of specialized cells called neurons that transmit and coordinate signals, providing a communication network within the human body.
Neuron
Specialized cell that is the functional unit of the nervous system.
Nucleus
Cellular structure or organelle that contains the majority of the cell’s genetic material in the form of chromosomes.
Organelles
Tiny cellular structures that perform specific functions within a cell. Examples: Nuclei Mitochondria Lysosomes Ribosomes Endoplasmic reticulum
Mitochondria
The parts of the cell that use nutrients to create energy for the cell; commonly known as the powerhouses of the cell.
Effector sites
A part of the body, such as a muscle or organ, that receives a signal from a neuron to produce a physiological response.
Electroclytes
Minerals that have an electrical charge to help transmit nerve impulses throughout the body, such as sodium, potassium, and magnesium
Central Nervous System (CNS)
A division of the nervous system that includes the brain and spinal cord.
Peripheral Nervous System (PNS)
Nerves that connect the rest of the body to the central nervous system
Afferent Pathway
Sensory pathway that relays information to the central nervous system
Efferent pathway
A motor pathway that relays information from the central nervous system to the rest of the body.
Interneurons
Neurons located within the spinal cord and brain that transmit impulses between afferent and efferent neurons.
Mechanoreceptors
Specialized structures that respond to mechanical forces (touch and pressure) within tissues, and then transmit signals through sensory nerves.
Somatic Nervous System (SNS)
Nerves that serve the outer areas of the body and skeletal muscles, and are largely responsible for the voluntary control of movement.
Autonomic Nervous System (ANS)
A division of the peripheral nervous system that supplies neural input to organs that run the involuntary processes of the body (circulating blood, digestion food, producing hormones).
Sympathetic Nervous System
Subdivision of the autonomic nervous system that works to increase neural activity, and put the body in a heightened state.
Parasympathetic Nervous System
Subdivision of the autonomic nervous system that works to decrease neural activity and put the body in a more relaxed state.
Sensory Function
Ability of the nervous system to sense changes in either the internal or external environment.
Proprioception
The body’s ability to naturally sense its general orientation and relative position of it’s parts
Integrative Function
The ability of the nervous system to analyze and interpret the sensory information to allow for proper decision making, which produces an appropriate response
Motor Function
The neuromuscular (or nervous and muscular systems) response to the integrated sensory information
Muscle Spindles
Sensory receptors sensitive to change in length of the muscle and the rate of that change
