Lecture 18: Spinal Cord, White and Grey Matter, and Spinal Nerves Flashcards
Which neurotransmitter is used by a somatic efferent neuron?
- Acetylcholine
Where does your spinal cord start and end?
- Foramen magnum (big hole) —-> 1st Lumbar Vertebra (L1)
What is the conus medularis?
- Tip of spinal cord which is shaped like a tapered cone
What is the filum terminale?
- An extension of the conus medularis that extends to end of spinal cavity
- Anchors spinal cord
Spinal cord fits within a _____ that fits inside the spinal cavity. It is filled with _____
- Sack
- Spinal fluid
The spinal cord is ______ than the vertebral column. Because of this some spinal nerves need to exit _____ _____.
- Shorter
- Way down
What is the cauda equina?
- Spinal nerves exiting spinal cavity + vertebral column inferior to end of spinal cord
What makes up grey matter and where is it found?
- Collections of cell bodies in the brain/spinal cord
What makes up white matter and where is it found?
- Bundles of axons in the cerebral cortex + spinal cord
Afferent (sensory) information comes through the _____ nerve root.
- Dorsal nerve root (in the dorsal root ganglion)
Efferent (motor) information goes out through the _____ nerve root.
- Ventral nerve root
What are ventral and dorsal horns composed of?
- Grey matter
What are ventral and dorsal columns made up of?
- White matter
What would happen if there was a lesion in the left ventral horn?
- Paralysis in those muscles
What happens in the dorsal root ganglion? It contains thousands of ____ ____. Therefore thousands of ______. What type are they?
- Sensory (Afferent) information
- Cell bodies
- Neurons
- Unipolar neurons (one process that splits into input zone and output zone)
