Nervous system Flashcards
What are the components of the human nervous system?
- Central nervous system
2. Peripheral nervous system
What are the components of the central nervous system?
The brain and spinal cord
What are the components of the peripheral nervous system
The cranial and spinal nerves
The autonomic nerves
What are nerves?
Bundles of axons in the PNS, some percentage of them will be myelinated by Schwann cells
What are tracts?
Bundles of axons in the CNS, some of them will be myelinated by oligodendrocytes
What is white matter?
Areas of the CNS composed of neural cell bodies
What is grey matter?
Areas of the CNS composed of neural cell bodies
What does afferent refer to?
CNS/individual nerve cell that projects inward
What does efferent refer to?
CNS/individual nerve cell that projects outward
What is a plexus?
An interwoven mass of nerves and axons making up these nerves
What is a ganglion?
A swelling on a nerve which usually contains cell bodies
What is a ramus?
A branch of a nerve
How many cranial nerves are there?
12 pairs
Where do cranial nerves originate?
In the brain
What are the different roles of cranial nerves?
Sensory - CN1/2/8
Motor - CN3/6/11/12
Mixed - CN5/7/9/10
How many spinal nerves are there?
31 pairs
Describe the origin of the spinal nerves
8 cervical
12 thoracic
5 lumbar
5 sacral
1 coccygeal
Why are spinal nerves commonly stretched downwards?
Spinal cord stops at around level L1
After this, the nerves angle down since the spinal cord stays the same length, but the vertebral column continues growing, stretching the nerves downwards