CNS - Brain Flashcards
What is Wernicke’s area
Part of the brain in the left temporal lobe that recognizes spoken words
What is a functional MRI (fMRI)
Measures change of blood flow in regions of the brain (as well as use of oxygen and sugar by cells)
What structures protect the brain
Skull, hair, meninges, and CSF
What are the 3 meninges
Dura mater (tough mother), arachnoid mater (spider mother), and pia mater (soft mother)
What are the 4 characteristics of the dura mater
Opaque outer layer that feels like leather, 2 layers of dense irregular CT, blood sinus (dural sinus) between layers to drain blood away from brain, layers fused where there’s no sinus
What are the 4 characteristics of the arachnoid mater
Thin/filmy, middle layer over medulla onlongata, reticular CT, spider web like extensions connect it with pia mater
What are the 4 characteristics of the pia mater
Inner layer, loose areolar CT, clings to brain surface, very vascular
What are the spaces between meningeal layers
Subdural space and subarachnoid space
Describe the subdural space
Between dura mater and arachnoid mater that contains a thin film of fluid (subdural hematoma is a brain bleed where blood pools here)
Describe the subarachnoid space
Between arachnoid mater and pia mater that has Cerebrospinal Fluid (CSF)
What is CSF
A blood filtrate produced in the brain that circulates within and around the brain and spinal cord
What are the functions of CSF
Nourishes brain tissue, removes waste products, and cushions brain by allowing it to float (1/2 cup at any given time continually produced and removed)
What is the choroid plexus
Capillary network writhing ventricles that produces CSF
What are arachnoid villi
Portions of arachnoid mater that push up into dural sinuses where CSF is reabsorbed back into blood after circulation
What are the ventricles of the brain
Connected, fluid containing spaces of the brain lined by ependymal cells and filled with CSF
Name the ventricles of the brain
Lateral ventricles (2), third ventricle (1), cerebral aqueduct (1), fourth ventricle (1)
In which 2 ventricles is the majority of CSF produced
Laterals and third
What is hydrocephaly
Overproduction of CSF or improper removal causing an increase in head size/swelling in infants, increased intracranial blood pressure causes brain damage
What is meningitis
Inflammation of meninges, usually caused by infection which can spread to nervous tissue of brain and cause swelling and death
What are the 2 types of meningitis
Viral (most common and resolves within a few weeks), and bacterial (most dangerous because of quick progression but can be treated with antibiotics)
What is the blood brain barrier
Specialized continuous capillaries of the brain have tightly packed endothelial cells lacking in intercellular clefts, many more tight junctions, making it hard for things to get in or out
What is one downside of the blood brain barrier
Can make an immune response hard
What makes white matter of the brain look white
Oligodendrocytes (fatty, insulatory cells)
What are the characteristics of white matter
Composed of myelinated axons that form fiber tracts
What are the characteristics of gray matter
Better for processing (all important functions of the brain happen here), composed of dendrites, cell bodies, glial cells, and unmyelinated axons
Where is gray matter in the brain
Outer gray matter formed by the cortex in the cerebrum and cerebellum, inner gray matter formed by nuclei in ganglia
What type of tissue does the spinal cord lack
Outer gray matter
What structure develops into the brain
Dorsal hollow nerve cord
What is the telencephalon
Cerebral hemisphere (cortex, white matter, basal nuclei)
What is the diencephalon
Thalamus, hypothalamus, and epithalamus
What is the mesencephalon
Midbrain