Nervous System Flashcards
sensory ( afferent) nerves
inform the central nervous system
Efferent nerves
send information from CNS to various tissues in response to information from sensory division
what consists of the central nervous system?
brain and spinal cord
what consists of the peripheral nervous system?
- sensory
- motor
- somatic
- autonomic
neuron
a neuron is an individual nerve cell
what are dendrites?
branched region where one neuron receives connections from other neurons
soma
cell body of the nucleus
axon hillock
this is where action potential starts
axon
long, slender projection form the soma. carries action potentials to the terminals ( away from cell body)
myelin sheath
layers of lipids and proteins wrapped around the axons. increases axonal conduction velocity. Enables faster axonal conduction velocity.
nodes of ranvier
small gaps in between myelin where the Na-K channels and pumps are located
axon terminals
distal termination of the axon form synapses with another neuron or a muscle
what consists of gray matter?
contains cell bodies, dendrites, and axon terminals
what consists of white matter?
contains axons that connect different parts of gray to each other
what is the cerebrum?
- has 2 hemispheres
- connected by the corpus callosum ( fiber bundles that allow the 2 hemispheres to communicate with each other)