Nervous System Structure

Question 1

microscopic nerve cells

Answer 1

neurons

Question 2

neuron

Answer 2

a nerve cell that is necessary for impulses to be carried throughout the nervous system

Question 3

nerve

Answer 3

macroscopic cord-like collection of fibers (axons) that carry electrical impulses all over the body

Question 4

nervous impulses

Answer 4

electrical discharge

Question 5

receptors

Answer 5

organ that receives and transmits a stimulus to sensory nerves (skin, ears, eyes, and taste buds are receptors

Question 6

Central nervous system

Answer 6

brain and spinal cord

Question 7

Peripheral nervous system

Answer 7

nerves outside the brain and spinal cord; cranial, spinal, and autonomic nerves

Question 8

cranial nerves

Answer 8

12 pairs of nerves carry messages to and from the brain to all parts of the head and neck and also (in the case of the vagus nerve) to other parts of the body

Question 9

spinal nerves

Answer 9

pairs of nerves, arising one on each side of the spinal column. Transmit messages to and from the spinal cord

Question 10

autonomic nervous system

Answer 10

nerves that control involuntary body functions of muscles, glands, and internal organs

Question 11

plexus

Answer 11

large network of nerves in the peripheral nervous system (cervical, brachial, and lumbosacral plexus)

Question 12

vagus nerve

Answer 12

10th cranial nerve that leaves the head and “wanders” into the abdominal and thoracic cavities

Question 13

afferent nerves

Answer 13

sensory nerves carry messages toward the spinal cord and brain from a sensory receptor (sight, hearing balance, smell, and touch)

Question 14

efferent nerves

Answer 14

motor nerves travel from the spinal cord and brain to muscles of the body, telling them how to respond

Question 15

sympathetic nerves

Answer 15

autonomic nerves that influence bodily functions involuntarily in times of stress

Question 16

parasympathetic nerves

Answer 16

involuntary autonomic nerves that regulate normal body functions such as heart rate, breathing, and muscles of the gastrointestinal tract (balance for the sympathetic nerves)