General Organization of the Nervous System Flashcards
CNS
Part of the NS consisting of the brain and spinal cord.
Has no nerves!*
Has ogliodendocytes, which create myelin for CNS.
Has meninges: layers for protection around structures.
PNS
Part of the NS consisting of all the nerves and ganglia outside of the brain and spinal cord.
Divided into Somatic and Autonomic systems.
Has Schwann cells, which create myelin for PNS.
Has no meninges.
Autonomic Nervous System
Part of PNS;
Involuntary components of NS control.
Also called “Involuntary Nervous” or “ General Visceral Motor” Nervous Systems.
Further divided into Sympathetic system, Parasympathetic system, and Enteric system.
Somatic Nervous System
Part of PNS;
Voluntary (muscle movements).
“Simplistic” - [Cell body > motor neuron > effector]
Sympathetic Nervous System
Part of Autonomic Nervous system, thus part of PNS too.
“Fight or Flight”. Uses energy.
Parasympathetic Nervous System
Part of Autonomic Nervous system, thus part of PNS too.
“Rest or Digest”.
Enteric Nervous System
Part of Autonomic Nervous system, thus part of PNS too.
Deals with gut; plexus that transports info to/from GI tract and brain.
Nerve
A fiber or bundle of fibers that transmits impulses of sensation to the brain or spinal cord, and impulses from these to the muscles and organs.
Two roots that come together.
Ganglia (ganglion)
Collection of cell bodies in the PNS.
Nuclei
Collection of cell bodies in the CNS.
Primary Afferents
Sensory neurons in the PNS that transduce information about states of the body and transmit it to sites in the CNS.
Afferents
Arriving; Sensory.
Motor Efferents
Motor neurons that carry neural impulses away from the CNS and towards muscles to cause movement.
Efferents
Exiting; Motor.
Dorsal Root Ganglia
A cluster of neurons in a dorsal root of a spinal nerve.
Axon
A long slender projection of a nerve cell, or neuron, that conducts electrical impulses away from the neuron’s cell body or soma.
Axons as bundles make up nerves.
Dorsal Root
Sensory information; enters dorsal side of spine.
Have ganglion.
Cell bodies live in ganglion.
Ventral Root
Motor information; enters ventral side of spine.
Have no ganglion.
Cell bodies live in the horn.
Spinal Segment
The spinal cord is located in the vertebral foramen.
A pair of spinal nerves leaves each segment of the spinal cord.
Made up of 31 segments: 8 cervical 12 thoracic 5 lumbar 5 sacral 1 coccygeal.
Mixed Nerve
A nerve that contains both afferent and efferent nerves.
Thus, functions to transmit both sensory and motor information.
Spinal Nerves
A mixed nerve.
Carries motor, sensory, and autonomic signals between the spinal cord and the body.
Human body has 31 pairs of spinal nerves, one on each side of the vertebral column.
Named on WHERE they exit, not where the vertebrae are.
Axon
A long slender projection of a nerve cell, or neuron, that conducts electrical impulses away from the neuron’s cell body or soma.
Axons as bundles make up nerves.
Cranial Nerves
12 pairs of nerves.
Come out of the cranium on Left & Right sides.
Numbered Rostral to Caudal, Medial to Lateral.
Functions can be motor, sensory, or mixed.
Preganglionic Neuron
Cell body in CNS before the ganglion.
Lightly myelinated axon.
Synapses at ganglion.
Postganglionic Neuron
Cell body in PNS after the ganglion.
Unmyelinated axon.
Synapses at effector organ.
White Ramus
The preganglionic sympathetic myelinated nerve tract from the spinal cord.
Gray Ramus
The postganglionic sympathetic unmyelinated tract from synapse to rejoin nerve.