Lecture 1 - CNS Development and Intro Flashcards
Central Nervous System
Brain and spinal cord
Brain
Sorts through and properly routes incoming sensory information; initiates, controls, and coordinates most muscular activity except simple reflexes; site of origin of 12 cranial nerve pairs (4 pairs carry parasympathetic fibers III, VII, IX, and X)
Functions of the Brain
Sensory, motor, and cognitive
Spinal Cord
First CNS structure encountered by most incoming sensory information except sensory fibers in cranial nerves; last relay station for most motor information except ANS motor fibers; site of coordination of most reflex arcs
PNS
Made up of transmission pathways carrying information between the CNS and external/internal environments; includes 12 pairs of cranial nerves, 31 pairs of spinal nerves, sensory receptors in the skin and wall of the gut tube as well as in tendons and skeletal muscles
ANS
Entirely motor; innervates smooth muscle and glands (viscera); subdivided into sympathetic (fight or flight; thoracolumbar) and parasympathetic systems (feed and breed; craniosacral)
Nucleus
Aggregation of dendrites and nerve cell bodies in the CNS
Ganglion
Aggregation of dendrites and nerve cell bodies in the PNS
Nerve
Bundle of fibers (axons) in the PNS
Tract
Bundle of fibers (axons) in the CNS
Commissure
Tract in the CNS that crosses from one side to the other
White Matter
Areas of myelinated axons
Gray Matter
Areas of unmyelinated axons, cell bodies, and dendrites
When does the formation of the nervous system occur during the embryonic stage?
End of 2nd week to end of 8th week
Stages in Neural Tube Development
Neural plate to neural folds to neural tube
Parts of Tripartite Brain
Prosencephalon (further divided in pentapartite brain), mesencephalon, and rhombencephalon (further divided in pentapartite brain)
Parts of Pentapartite Brain
Telencephalon (most anterior), diencephalon, mesencephalon, metencephalon, and myelencephalon
Anencephaly
Failure of the cranial end of the neural tube to close
Holoprosencephaly
Failure of prosencephalon to divide into 2 cerebral hemispheres; often associated with facial deformities such as a single orbit with 2 eyes, 1 eye, or no eyes, a proboscis-type nose located above the eye, or a cleft lip and palate
Spina Bifida Occulta
Results from a failure of the inferior neuropore to close; vertebral arch/es fail to develop in caudal area; spinal cord function is usually normal
Spina Bifida Cystica
Characterized by a sac-like cyst at the caudal end of spine; spinal cord and/or meninges may be found in the cyst; spinal cord function may be impaired; may be lower extremity dysfunction; bladder and bowel function may be impaired
Meningocele (form of spina bifida cystica)
Only meninges found in sac; spinal cord function may be impaired; signs and symptoms vary depending on location and severity of malformation
Meningomyelocele (form of spina bifida cystica)
Both meninges and spinal cord are found in sac; always results in abnormal growth of spinal cord; lower extremity paralysis; bowel and bladder dysfunction; loss of sensation to lower limbs
Myeloschisis (form of spina bifida cystica)
Failure of caudal neural folds to close; most severe of the defects
Arnold-Chiari Deformity
Inferior cerebellum and medulla are elongated and protrude into vertebral canal; medulla and pons are small and deformed; hydrocephalus; malformation of lower cranial nerves leads to deafness, tongue, facial muscle, lateral eye movement weakness