Chapter 9

Question 1

Name the spaces and meninges in order from external to internal

Answer 1

• dura mater
• subdural space
• arachnoid mater
• subarachnoid space
• pia mater

Question 2

What is found in the subarachnoid space and epidural space

Answer 2

• subarachnoid space: cerebrospinal fluid
• epidural space: adipose tissue in the form of globules of fat & vertebral venous plexus

Question 3

Where does the dura mater extend to and from?

Answer 3

from the foramen magnum to the dural sac at SV2 and further to the filum of the dura

Question 4

What are the characteristics of pia mater?

Answer 4

• innermost layer
• delicate CT
• has two extensions: the denticulate ligament & filum terminale

Question 5

What are the characteristics of arachnoid mater?

Answer 5

• delicate, loose, netlike membrane
• has a subarachnoid space (contains CSF)

Question 6

What is another name for a sensory neuron? Motor neuron?

Answer 6

• sensory neuron: afferent neuron
• motor neuron: efferent neuron

Question 7

What type of neurons are found in the dorsal root? Ventral root?

Answer 7

• dorsal root: contains sensory neurons only
• ventral root: contains axons of motor neurons only

Question 8

What is found in the dorsal root ganglion?

Answer 8

cell bodies of sensory neurons

Question 9

What area of the body does the ventral ramus supply? Dorsal ramus?

Answer 9

• ventral ramus supplies: the entire anterior trunk as well as the appendages
• dorsal ramus supplies: structures of the back (deep back muscles & skin of the back)

Question 10

Where can interneurons be found?

Answer 10

in the CNS; between sensory and motor neurons

Question 11

What is found in a mixed spinal nerve?

Answer 11

afferent & efferent, somatic & autonomic fibers

Question 12

What are funiculi and where can one find them?

Answer 12

• funiculi are columns of nerve bundles containing tracts that course up and down, to and from the brain

Question 13

What arteries supply the spinal cord? Be specific.

Answer 13

• 1 anterior spinal artery
• 2 posterior spinal arteries

Question 14

Where can the cauda equina be found and what is it made up of?

Answer 14

• at the end of the spinal cord
• it is made up of a group of nerves, nerve roots & contains axons of nerves

Question 15

How many spinal nerves belong to each region of the spinal cord?

Answer 15

• cervical: 8 pairs
• thoracic: 12 pairs
• lumbar: 5 pairs
• sacral: 5 pairs
• coccygeal: 1 pair

Question 16

What can be found in white matter? Gray matter?

Answer 16

• white matter: posterior, lateral, anterior funiculi, & tracts (corticospinal tract)
• gray matter: dorsal horns & ventral horns

Question 17

Why are denticulate ligaments clinically important?

Answer 17

they separate ventral roots of spinal nerves from dorsal roots

Question 18

What is the filum teriminale and where is it located?

Answer 18

• a single inferior extension of the pia mater
• found from the conus medullaris inferiorly through the vertebral column embedded within the roots of the cauda equina

Question 19

Where can baston’s veins be found and where do they drain?

Answer 19

• in the epidural space
• brain & spine

Question 20

Give examples of where spinal nerves exit, for example, where does cervical spinal nerve 2 exit? Below or above CV2?

Answer 20

Cervical region: spinal nerve roots exit above their corresponding vertebral level
* C7 nerve root exits above C7
* C8 exits between T1 & C7
Thoracic & lumbar region: spinal nerve roots exit below their corresponding vertebral level
* L3 nerve root exits below L3

Question 21

Create scenarios in which you can trace how information travels into and out of the spinal cord. For example, if you put your hand on a hot stove, how does that information first come in and then how does information flow out of the spinal cord for you to pull your hand away. Contact me if you need help with this.

Answer 21

• skin receptors send nerve impulses to the spinal cord via sensory neurons
• the impulses are processed in the spinal cord and a response is relayed back
• the interneurons in the spinal cord make connections between sensory & the correct motor neurons
• from the interneurons the response is relayed to the motor neurons which stimulate the muscles to contract & therefore pull the hand away