Chapter 6 HW Flashcards
Lumbar puncture
A test that looks for the presence of a meningitis pathogen in the CSF (cerebrospinal fluid)
Cerebellum
Located posteriorly in the brain, interior to the occipital lobes of the cerebrum. It receives sensory messages concerning the position of the limbs, muscles and joints. Fine-tunes efferent skeletal muscle messages to coordinate position, balance, and movement. The effect is smooth, coordinated movement.
Neuroglial cells found in the CNS (central nervous system)
Oligodendrocytes (form myelin), Ependymal cells (produce cerebrospinal fluid), Astrocytes (form the blood-brain barrier, regulate composition of CSF, and form scar tissue), microglia (provide protection by seeking and removing damaged cells, debris, and pathogens)
Epidural space
Between the vertebrae and the dura mater surrounding the spinal cord.
Cerebrospinal fluid (CSF)
- Clear, colorless fluid that circulates between the ventricles and the subarachnoid space to bathe the brain and spinal cord
- Functions: rinse the brain and spinal cord of metabolic waste, cushion the brain from impact, provide buoyancy so the brain is not damaged by the bony floor of the skull
Neuron membrane during resting membrane potential
Outside is positive, inside is negative, membrane is polarized
Amount of spinal nerves attached to the spinal cord between vertebrae
31 pairs of spinal nerves: 8 cervical, 12 thoracic, 5 lumbar, 5 sacral, 1 coccygeal
Reflex arc
- Receptor: dendrite of a neuron receiving the stimulus (a chemical, heat, light, or mechanical disturbance.
- Afferent neuron (sensory): neuron that has an action potential carrying the signal to the CNS
- Integrating center: either the brain or spinal cord, where the signal is received from the afferent neuron and conducted to a motor neuron. This may or may not require an inter neuron.
- Efferent neuron (motor): neuron that has an action potential carrying a signal away from the CNS
- Effector: the structure causing the effect. If this structure is skeletal muscle, it is called a somatic reflex. If the effector is a gland or smooth muscle, it is called an autonomic reflex
Autonomic nervous system
Carries efferent messages, these messages are involuntary. Divided by two parts, the sympathetic and parasympathetic.
Four subdivisions of the brain
Cerebrum, diencephalon, brainstem, cerebellum
Cauda equina
A bundle of nerve roots that extends from L1 to S5 in the vertebral cavity
Subarachnoid space
Space between the arachnoid mater and pia mater, it contains cerebrospinal fluid
Myelination of the axon
Allows action protecting to travel very quickly
Four major lobes of the Cerebrum
Frontal, parietal, temporal, occipital
Gyri
Folds on the cerebrum that allows for extra surface area
Diencephalon
One of four subdivisions of the brain, located deep to the cerebrum. It has two major components, the thalamus and the hypothalamus
Two main divisions of the nervous system
- Central: composed of the brain and spinal cord and serves as the central processing center
- Peripheral: a network of all the nerves in the body that sends messages to and from the central processing center
Myelin sheath
Intermittently covers the axon. Myelin is lipid-rich, and it insulates the axons much like the wire coating on wires, the myelin on an axon has gaps
Alzheimer’s disease
Disorder involving the nervous system, it is a progressive, irreversible disease of the brain that is characterized by dementia
Action potential
The flow of electricity along an axon of a neuron in one direction, from the trigger zone to the synaptic knob
Terminal arborization
Located at the end of axon