lec 1 - overview of the nervous system Flashcards
Afferent:
conducted inward (input)
think sensory to the CNS
Efferent:
conducted outward (output)
think motor away from CNS
Sensory:
afferent input into CNS (pain, temperature, touch, etc.)
Motor:
efferent output from CNS (motor innervation to muscle)
Somatic:
refers to skeletal muscle and/or body wall
think limbs
Autonomic/Visceral:
refers to viscera and body cavities
Ganglion:
collection/group of neuronal cell bodies in PNS
Nucleus:
collection/group of neuronal cell bodies in CNS
Central nervous system (CNS) is made up of
Brain
Spinal cord
(all the neurons that make up the spinal cord, brainstem, and brain)
Peripheral nervous system (PNS) is made up of
Cranial nerves (12 pairs)
Spinal nerves (31 pairs)
2 divisions: somatic and autonomic
> neurons/ nerves that leave or branch off the CNS
> dorsal/ ventral roots
spinal nerves
dorsal/ ventral rami
cranial nerves
peripheral ganglia
sympathetic trunk
Overview of the Nervous System
> neurons can have part of their structure in the CNS and another part of their structure in the PNS
> lower motor neurons have their cell bodies in the ventral horn of the spinal cord, while their axons leave the spinal cord via spinal nerves to go to muscles to innervate them
> pseudounipolar sensory neurons have their cell bodies in the dorsal root ganglion, yet their central process enter the CNS so that we can integrate the sensory information
Information Flow in the Nervous System
Sensory receptor -> sensory/afferent input -> integration in CNS -> motor/efferent output -> effector ->
response
Afferents & Efferents:
joints, skin, skeletal muscle -> somatosensory fibers -> CNS -> somatomotor fibers -> skeletal muscle
viscera, vessels -> viscerosensory fibers -> CNS -> visceromotor fibers -> glands, smooth muscle, cardiac muscle
4 Modalities
somatic sensory
visceral sensory
somatic motor
visceral motor
Somatic sensory:
pain, temperature, touch, pressure, stretch, proprioception
Fibers convey impulses from skin, joints, and skeletal muscles
Visceral sensory:
pain, temperature, touch, pressure, stretch, proprioception
Fibers convey impulses from viscera, blood vessels, and glands
ex) stretch of the stomach
Somatic motor:
skeletal muscles
Fibers provide somatic motor innervation to skeletal muscles
Visceral motor:
smooth and cardiac muscles
Fibers provide autonomic (sympathetic and parasympathetic) motor innervation to smooth and cardiac muscles in viscera, blood vessels, and glands
Planes of Section
Horizontal/Transverse/Axial
Coronal/Frontal
Sagittal
When a plane of section lies somewhere between these three principal planes, it is referred to as oblique
horizontal/transverse/axial plane
divides the body into superior and inferior portions
The horizontal plane is orthogonal to the superior-inferior axis
frontal/coronal plane
divides the body into anterior and posterior portions
The coronal plane is orthogonal to the anterior-posterior axis
This plane is perpendicular to the long axis of the person’s body
sagittal plane
divides the body into right and left halves
The sagittal plane is orthogonal to the left-right axis
Midsagittal means that the section is in the sagittal plane at the midline of the body
Parasagittal means that the section is in the sagittal plane but is not at the midline of the body
The PNS has 2 divisions:
Somatic nervous system (SNS)
Autonomic nervous system (ANS)
Somatic nervous system (SNS):
Target/effector: skeletal muscle
1 motor neuron pathway
Cell body in CNS
Autonomic nervous system (ANS):
Target/effector: smooth muscle, cardiac muscle, and glands
> Sympathetic division
Parasympathetic division
Enteric division
2 motor neuron pathway
Preganglionic (presynaptic) neuron = Cell body in CNS
Postganglionic (postsynaptic) neuron = Cell body in PNS