Nervous System Terms Flashcards
What is a neuron?
Nerve cell
What is a nerve?
fiber or bundle of fibers that transmits impulses of sensation to the brain or spinal cord, and impulses from these to the muscles and organs.
Give an example of a nerve.
cranial nerves
Generally, what are afferent nerves?
sensory nerves
What do afferent nerves do?
Send signals from the senses, skin, muscles and internal organs to the CNS.
Generally, what are efferent nerves?
Motor nerves
What do efferent nerves do?
Transmit commands from the CNS to the muscles, glands and organs.
What are spinal nerves?
mixed nerves that interact directly with the spinal cord to modulate motor and sensory information from the body’s periphery.
What are cranial nerves?
twelve pairs of nerves which arise directly from the brain, not from the spinal cord, and pass through separate apertures in the skull
What are nerve rootlets?
smaller neuron bundles that coalesce to form roots
What are nerve roots?
the first part of a nerve that extends directly from the central nervous system.
What are rami?
Branches of a nerve
What is a ganglion?
a structure containing a number of nerve cell bodies, typically linked by synapses, and often forming a swelling on a nerve fiber.
What is the function of the myelin sheath?
Insulation
What is a neuron soma?
cell body