Introduction the Nervous System and Topography Flashcards

1
Q

Which structures form the CNS?

A

Brain + Spinal Cord

  • (structures whose embryonic precursor is the neural tube)*
  • brain = cerebral hemispheres, cerebellum & brainstem*
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2
Q

Which structures form the peripheral nervous system?

A

Dorsal and Ventral Roots

Ganglia

Spinal Nerves

Peripheral Nerves

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3
Q

What is a ganglia in the nervous system?

A

a collection of cell bodies in the peripheral nervous system

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4
Q

What is a nuclei in the central nervous system?

A

a collection of cell bodies

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5
Q

Outline the basic relationship of grey to white matter in the brain and spinal cord

A

Brain

central grey matter with white matter covering, covered in addtional cortex of grey matter

Spinal Cord

central grey matter (butterfly shaped) with white matter covering

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6
Q

What gives the grey matter is characteristic colour?

A

Lack of Myelin / Fat

Highly Vascularised

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7
Q

Which parts of the neuronal cell is found within the:

Grey Matter

White Matter

A

Grey Matter

cell bodies and dendrites

White Matter

axons and supporting cells

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8
Q

What is the peripheral nervous system equivalent of grey amtter and white matter?

A

Grey Matter

ganglion - a collection of cell bodies

White Matter

peripheral nerve

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9
Q

At the spinal cord, ventral and dosral nerve roots arise, what is their function and what do they eventually give rise to?

A

Vental - motor never

Dorsal - sensory nerve

form Spinal Nerves (mixed motor and sensory)

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10
Q

What are the upper and lower boundaries of the spinal cord?

A

Upper - formaina magnum

Lower - around L1

(cord terminates at conus medullaris)

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11
Q

Where could you localise a lesion if a patient presents with isolated sensory deficit in a limb, rather than both motor and sensory deficit?

A

localised to dorsal nerve root or dorsal root ganglion

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12
Q

How many pairs of spinal nerves are there along the spinal cord?

A

31 pairs of spinal nerves

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13
Q

What is a funiculus?

A

A segment of white matter containing multiple distinct tracts

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14
Q

What is a tract in the spinal cord and what is an important feature of its function?

A

an area of anatomically and functionally defined white matter, connecting two regions of grey matter

UNIDIRECTIONAL

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15
Q

What is a fasiculus in the spinal cord?

A

a subdivision of a tract supplying a distinct region of the body

  • e.g.*
  • fasiculus gracilis (supplies lower half of body)*
  • fasiculus cuneatus (supplies upper half of body)*
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16
Q

What is the relevanve of Rexed laminae when considering the action of a muscle?

A

Grey matter of the spinal cord is segmented in a similar fashion to the white matter

Multiple segments (or Rexed laminae) of grey matter in the spinal cord provide motor innervation to a particular muscle group

e.g. L2, L3, L4 innervate the quadriceps femoris

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17
Q

What is the cortex of the brain?

A

a folded sheet of cell bodies on the surface of the brain

18
Q

A ‘fibre’ can be used synonymously with the word axon, but name the structures that form a fibre?

A

axon of a neurone in associaton with its supporing cells (e.g. oligodendrocytes)

19
Q

What is the role of association fibres in the nervous system?

A

connect cortical regons within the same hemisphere

20
Q

What is the role of commissural fibres in the nervous system?

A

connect the left and right hemispheres or cord halves

e.g. corpus callosum

21
Q

What is the role of a projection fibre in the nervous system?

A

connect the cerebral hemisphere with the cord/brainstem

(or vice versa)

22
Q

What is the functon of the midbrain?

A

eye movement

reflex responses to sounds and vision

23
Q

What is the functon of the pons?

A

feeding

sleep

24
Q

What is the functon of the medulla oblongata?

A

cardiovascular and respiratory centres

contrains major motor pathway (medullary pyramids)

25
Q

What risk is posed by the uncus in herniation over the tentorial notch?

A

compression of the midbrain

26
Q

Which structures lie immediately anterior and posterior to the central sulcus and what is their function?

A

Pre-Central Gyrus

primary motor cortex

Post-Central Gyrus

primary sensory cortex

27
Q

Which structures of the brain are separated by the Lateral/Sylvian fissure?

A

separated the temporal lobe from the frontal/parietal lobe

28
Q

Which functional area of the brain surrounds the calcarine sulcus?

A

primary visual cortex surrounds calcarine sulcus

29
Q

What structure is located within the medullary pyramids?

A

descending motor fibres

30
Q

What is the relevance of the parahippocampal gyrus?

A

key cortical region for memory encoding

31
Q

What is a key role of the hypothalamus?

A

maintain homeostasis

32
Q

What is the function of the cingulate gyrus and where is it located?

A

important for emotion and memory

immediately above the corpus callosum

33
Q

What risk is posed by the cerebellar tonsil (I)?

A

can herniate and compress the medulla

34
Q

What is the role of the fornix?

A

major output pathway from the hippocampus, which regulates emotions

35
Q

What is the role of the tectum and where is it located?

A

dorsal part of the midbrain

invovled in auditory and visual reflexes

also called the superior (visual) and inferior (auditory) colliculus

36
Q

Structures To Identify

A
37
Q

Outline the flow of CSF around the ventricular system to the blood

A

CSF produced by choroid plexus

lateral ventricles > interventricular foramen > third ventricle > cerebral aqueduct > fourth ventricle

> spinal cord and;

> lateral apparatus / medial apparatus > subarachoid space > arachnoid granulation project into superior saggital sinus > CSF drains into venous blood

38
Q

What is the function of the CSF?

A

cushioning of brain tissue

removal of waste products from the brain

39
Q

Where is grey matter located within the central nervous system?

A

Cerebral Cortex

Nuclei Deep Within Brain

Horns of Spinal Cord

40
Q

Outline the meningeal layers lining the brain

A

Periosteal Dural Mater

Meningeal Dural Mater

Arachnoid Mater

Pia Mater

41
Q

Which layer of the meningies actually has a space, rather than a potential space?

A

Sub Arachnoid Space

due to the prescence of structures such as the cerebral arteries