Exam I | Systems Overview: Nervous System Flashcards
Distinguish between afferent and efferent.
afferent is sensory function, efferent is motor function
Somatic nervous system (4 points)
- voluntary
- innervates skeletal muscle
- carries sensory information originating in the skin to CNS
- acts in concert with ANS that regulates cardio-pulmonary function, response to stress, etc.
What are glial cells?
- nurturing cells that support, insulate, and facilitate neurons
- differ regionally in the brain
- more abundant than neurons
What glial cells myelinate in the CNS? PNS?
oligodendrocytes; Schwann cells
How many nerve pairs are in the cervical, sacral, and coccygeal regions?
8, 5, and 1, respectively
What do you call the termination of the spinal cord? Where does the spina cord end?
medullary cone, between L1 and L2
Describe the relationship between the lumbar column and the lumbar region of the cord.
the lumbar column is inferior to the lumbar region of the cord.
Describe the relationship between the sacrum and the sacral region of the cord.
the sacrum is inferior to the sacral region of the cord
What is the cauda equina?
made up of lumbar, sacral, and coccygeal spinal nerve pairs
Compare and contrast nuclei with ganglia.
- both are local aggregations of neurons of similar function
- but nuclei are found in CNS and ganglia are found in PNS (sensory and autonomic)
- exception is basal ganglia
What is the difference between white and gray matter?
- gray matter has somas, white matter has axons
- in brain, gray matter is in cortex and white matter is in inner brain; the reverse is true in the spinal cord
What is a tract in the CNS?
a pathway (aggregation of nerve fibers) interconnecting 2 or more nuclei
What are the meninges composed of?
dura mater, arachnoid mater, pia mater
What does “gracile” mean?
thin, slender
What does ‘cuneate” mean?
wedge-shaped
What does fasciculus mean?
small bundle
What does ipsilateral mean?
same side
what does contralateral mean?
opposite side
What are 2 components of the dorsal lemniscus?
gracile fasciculus (medial) and cuneate fasciculus (lateral)
How can syphilis affect the spinal cord over time?
- after 20 years of infection, it can cause progressive deterioration of the dorsal side, or tabes dorsalis.
- inflammation of dorsal roots and spinal ganglia
- necrosis of dorsal columns
What fibers does the peripheral nervous system include?
- autonomic
- sensory
- motor
what does the nuerolemma do?
- in myelinated axons, produces myelin that surrounds a single axon
- in a Remak bundle, a single neurolemma surrounds multiple axons (or dendrites). Does not produce myelin in this case
what is another name for Schwann cells?
neurolemmocytes
What is the epinerueum?
- contains fatty tissue, blood supply, and lymphatic vessels
- envelops multiple fascicles to encase entire nerve
What is the perineurium?
dense connective tissue that encapsulates fascicles
What is a fascicle?
a bundle of axons, encapsulated by the perineurium
what is the endoneurium?
connective tissue that wraps around myelin in the PNS
What is myelin composed of?
water and collagen
What must a local anesthetic molecule do to reach its site of action?
- site of action is the nerve axon
- must traverse 4-5 layers of connective tissue or lipid membranous barriers, or both
How is the PNS divided?
- primarily into motor and sensory nerves
- motor nerves can be somatic or autonomic
- autonomic nerves can be sympathetic or parasympathetic
What nerves are considered part of the PNS?
- cranial nerves
- spinal nerve pairs
From where do the cranial nerves originate? What is the exception?
- brainstem, exit skull via cranial foramina
- cranial nerve XI arises from superior cord
How many pairs of spinal nerves are there?
31
What are two other names for DRG?
posterior root ganglion or spinal ganglion
what is another name for nerve?
root
Describe the pathway of a motor neuron.
- soma is in ventral horn
- travels from there to ventral rootlets to ventral root to spinal root (nerve) to skeletal muscle
Describe the pathway of a sensory neuron.
- soma is in spinal ganglion (DRG)
- sensory neuron is unipolar
- travels from skin to spinal root to DRG to dorsal root to dorsal rootlets to dorsal horn
How does the somatic reflex response work?
- sensory neuron is connected to motor neuron by interneuron
- AP occurs in between sensory neuron and interneuron, and between interneuron and motor neuron
Reflexes can fall under what two categories?
- monsynaptic (2 neurons)
- disynaptic (3 neurons)
- there’s always one more neuron than there are synapses
What is the basal lamina, and what is another name for it?
- wraps around myelin
- basement membrane
What type of nerve fibers cannot regenerate?
CNS fibers