CNS Flashcards
Basic structural unit of the CNS
Neurons
White matter vs grey matter
White = areas with high myelination Grey = areas with low myelination
In the brain:
Superficial gray = cortex
Deep gray = basal nuclei
Much white matter deep
In the spinal cord:
Superficial = White
Deep = Gray
What produces CSF?
Choroid plexus on floor or roof of ventricles
What is the diencephalon?
Thalamus + hypothalamus
Gyri vs sulci?
Gyri = folds Sulci = grooves
Pre vs post-central gyrus?
Pre-central = motor control Post-central = sensory control
What are peduncles
Rope-like bundles of axons
What are pyramids?
Where 85% of motor tracts cross over (decussation)
Components of the midbrain?
Tectum (dorsal) = visual and auditory processing
Tegmentum (ventral) = subconscious control of. upper limb position and muscle tome
What is the pons?
The bridge linking the cerebellum with the mesencephalon (midbrain), diencephalon, cerebrum and spinal cord
Function of the cerebellum?
Autonomic control of postural muscles of the body
Programming and fine tuning conscious and subconscious movements
Functions of the medulla oblongata?
Connects brain to spinal cord and is responsible for complex autonomic reflexes and control of visceral functions
Contains the pyramids
What are the meninges and what do they do?
Membranous coverings of the brain and spinal cord
Provide a supportive framework for the cerebral and cranial vasculature
Layers of the meninges from inner to outer
Pia mater
Arachnoid mater
Dura mater
Where is the CSF located?
Between the pia mater and arachnoid mater
In the spinal canal
What are the dural folds?
Divide the cranial cavity and help to hold the brain in place. Also houses the venous sinuses
Falx cerebri
Tentorium cerebelli
Falx cerebelli
What is CSF?
A clear fluid (150-500mL produced per day) which supplies nutrients and removed waste products from the brain. It also floats the brain and buffers agains knocks
What is the dentricular ligament?
A projection of pia mater that tethers the spinal cord to dura mater
Where does the spinal cord stop?
L1-L2
What is the filum terminale, conus medullaris and cauda equina?
Conus medullaris = tapered end of spinal cord
Filum terminale = pia mater which tethers the end of the spinal cors to the coccyx
Cauda equina = the collection of nerve roots projecting off the inferior end of the vertebral column (horses tail)
Size of spinal cord
Larger in cervical and lumbar die to concentration of cell bodies which provide axons to appendicular skeleton. Continuous with shape of vertebrae
Sensory on dorsal or ventral horn?
Sensory = dorsal horn Motor = ventral horn
