Module 2 - Gross Anatomy and Internal Structure of Spinal Cord and Brainstem Flashcards
What is the denticulate ligament and what is its function?
- It is a thickening of pia and glial elements. It forms a “ribbon along the lateral surface of the spinal cord
- It attaches the cord to and suspends it in dura/arachnoid tube
What are the 2 enlargements of the spinal cord?
Cervical enlargemetn (c4-5 - T1)
Lumbisacral enlargement (L2-S3)
What is the Filum terminale?
- extension of pia and supporting cells
- anxhors spinal cord to dorsum of coccyx
What is a potential space?
A region of the body in which two surface membranes adjoin, separated in health only by a small amount of fluid lubrication.
Identify the:
- epidural space
- dura mater
- arachnoid mater
- pia mater
- subdural space
What are the denticulate ligaments? Identify them.
projections of pia mater that stabilize the spinal cord
What is the anterior horn of spinal cord?
the ventral (front) grey matter section of the spinal cord which contains motor neurons that affect the skeletal muscles
What is the Posterior horn of spinal cord?
the dorsal (towards the back) grey matter section of the spinal cord that receives several types of sensory information from the body including light touch, proprioception, and vibration
On this micrograph of the spinal cord, locate the:
- posterolateral sulcus
- posterior median fissure
- posterior horn
- anterior horn
- anterior median fissure
- central canal
- anterolateral sulcus
What are the 4 categories of bone case around the spinal cord (top to bottom)
- cervical
- thoracic
- lumbar
- sacral
What is a segment in the spinal cord?
A portion of the cord giving rise to a spinal nerve
How many segments are there in the human spinal cord?
31
If there are 31 spinal nerves, how many are:
a. cervical
b. thoracic
c. lumbar
d. sacral
e. coccygeal
8 cervical
12 thoracic
5 lumbar
5 sacral
1 coccygeal
Moving caudally down the chord, the length of roots increases - why?
What is the longest root?
Because they must travel further to exit through the appropriate intervertebral foramen.
lumbosacral roots are the longest and form the cauda equina
Describe rootlets of the spinal cord
They are either motor (anterior) or sensory (posterior). They combine outside the vertebral canal into spinal nerves that are mixed
Identify the:
- Posterior root (sensory)
- Anterior (ventral) root (motor)
- Spinal nerve (mixed
What is the spinal, or dorsal root, ganglion?
a cluster of neurons (a ganglion) in a dorsal root of a spinal nerve. The cell bodies of sensory neurons known as first-order neurons are located in the dorsal root ganglia.
Where is:
- Spinal ganglion
- Posterior (dorsal) roots - sensory
- Anterior (ventral) roots - motor
- Spinal nerve - mixed
Inner core of spinal core grey matter consists of what?
nerve cell bodies and processes,
neuroglia
what does the posterior horn of the spinal cord do?
Receives and processes sensory information
What does the anterior horn do?
motor
Location of cell bodies of nerves innervating skeletal muscles (i.e. lower
motor neurons [LMN])
What does the central canal of the spinal cord become continuous with?
the 4th ventricle in the medulla
Rexed’s laminae
Gray matter divided into layers in the spinal cord