Nervous tissue Flashcards
What are the two classes of cells in nervous tissue?
Neurons and glia
What is the CNS?
Central nervous system is contained within the spinal column and skull: 1. Brain 2. Spinal chord
What is the PNS?
Peripheral nervous system is primarily outside of spinal columns and skull: 1. nerves 2. ganglia
What is the difference between afferent and efferent?
Afferent = sensory = incoming – from receptor to CNS Efferent = motor = outgoing – from CNS to effector
What is the difference between somatic and autonomic divisions?
Based on targets of efferent information and sources of afferent information: Somatic = part of the nervous system having to do with the body (soma = body) Autonomic = monitors and controls functions that are internal (i.e. blood pressure, heart rate, gut motility, oxygenation, etc)
What do somatic efferent fibers do?
ALWAYS and ONLY innervate skeletal muscle (AKA: General Somatic Efferent)
What do Autonomic efferent fibers do?
Innervate: Cardiac muscle, smooth muscle, glands, and fat NEVER innervate: skeletal muscle (AKA General Visceral Efferent)
What do Somatic afferent fibers do?
Collect information regarding the body. Includes: - Pain - Temperature - Touch - Pressure - joint position - information from golgi tendon organs and muscle spindles Most of which we can be concious of and can pinpoint (AKA General Somatic Afferent)
What do Autonomic afferent fibers do?
Collect information such as degree of stretch and chemical composition from internal organs and blood vessels (AKA General Visceral Afferent)
What is the embryonic origin of the cells int he CNS?
Both neuronal and non-neuronal CNS cells are derived from the neural tube. - The neural tube originates from epithelial cells in the ectoderm.
What characteristics do epithelial tissue and nervous tissue share?
Because nervous tissue originates from epithelial tissue in the neural tube, it has: - No connective tissue except that which surrounds the CNS and the blood vessels that penetrate the CNS - Entire CNS is surrounded by basal lamina (that began as basal lamina of neural tube) - Brain and spinal cord have fluid filled cavities lined by ependyma (epithelial cells)
Describe the two sections shown
- White matter: contains oligodendrocytes, nerve processes
- Gray matter: Made up of dorsal and ventral horns; contain neuron cell bodies and microglial cells
Where would you find spinal nerves?
They are formed where the dorsal and ventral roots meet.
- less than an inch long
- extend distally only to the point where the nerve divides into dorsal and ventral rami
What type of nerve fibers exist in spinal nerves?
Spinal nerves are mixed nerves
- contain both afferent and efferent fibers
- also contain elements of both the somatic and autonomic systems
How many spinal nerves are there in a human?
31
What would result from cutting a dorsal root?
Dorsal roots are completely sensory
- cutting root results in loss of sensation, both somatic and visceral
What is the dorsal root ganglion?
Near the distal end of the dorsal root, right where it exits an intervertebral foramen, is the DRG
- contains the cell bodies of the dorsal root neurons
- Each cell body has a peripheral process that receives information from receptors and a central process taht enters the spinal cord
- There are no synapses in the dorsal root ganglion
What would result from cutting a ventral root?
Ventral roots are completely motor
- cutting this root results in paralysis
- both somatic and autonomic fibers are involved
- there are no ganglion along the ventral root; cell bodies are located in spinal cord