Nervous Tissue Flashcards
What are the broad functions of nervous tissue?
Body’s control center and communication network
3 Broad Functions:
- Sense change in environment
- Integrates and interprets
- Responds if necessary
What are the divisions of the nervous system?
Central Nervous System
-Brain and Spinal Cord
Peripheral Nervous System
- Somatic
- Autonomic Nervous Systems
→Sympathetic and Parasympathetic Nervous systems
What are neuroglia and what are some examples?
Support cells for neurons within nervous tissue
Examples
- Oligodendrocytes = CNS
- Astrocytes = CNS
- Microglia = CNS
- Ependymal cells = CNS
- Schwann Cells = PNS
- Satelite Cells = CNS and PNS
What are the parts of the neuron pictured?
Cell Body
- nucleus
- nucleolus
- nissl substance
Dendrites
Axon
- axon hillock
- trigger zone
- axon collateral
- telodendrion
- synaptic knobs
What kinds of cells myelinate neurons in the CNS vs PNS? How does the myelin sheath differ?
CNS
- Oligodendrocytes
- each oligodendrocyte myelinates several nerve fibers inwards with centripetal myelination
PNS
- Neurolemmocytes
- schwann cells spiral repeatedly around single nerve fiber outwards with centrifugal myelination
Outer most layer of myelin sheath is neurilemma and surrounded by connective tissue calle endoneurium
What are the different types of neuron structures?
Unipolar Neurons (pseudounipolar)
- single process leading away from cell body
- carry signals to spinal cord for senses like touch and pain
Bipolar Neurons
- have one axon and one dendrite
- accessory sensory neurons including olfactory cells of nose
Multipolar Neurons
- most common
- most neurons of the brain and spinal cord
- motor neurons
How do impulses flow in neurons?
Dendrites carry infor to cell body
and
Axons carry info away from cell body
What are the different functional classifications of neurons?
Sensory Neurons
- also known as afferent (arriving)
- unipolar neurons
- from PNS to CNS
Association Neurons
- also known as interneurons
- interconnect incoming sensory pathways and outgoing motor pathways and amke decisions about information
- multipolar neurons and bipolar neurons in special sense pathways
Motor Neurons
- also known as efferent (exiting) neurons
- carry information primarily to muscle/gland cells, the effectors
- from CNS to PNS
What is a nerve fiber?
one process from one neuron
What is a nerve vs tract?
Nerve
-bundle of nerve fibers travelling through PNS
Tract
-bundle of nerve fibers travelling through CNS
What is a ganglion vs nucleus?
Ganglion
-collections of cell bodies in PNS
Nucleus
-collections of cell bodies in CNS
What is the difference between gray matter vs white matter?
Gray matter
-don’t travel far so unmyelinated
White matter
-myelinated fibers so faster and travel farther distances
What properties does communication by neurons depend on?
1. Electrical voltage, called resting membrane potential, across the cell membrane
- requires energy, ATP, to maintain
- Na+/positive outside and K+/negative inside
2. Neuronal cell membranes contain different ion channels that may be open or closed
-ion channels don’t require energy, facilitated diffusion
What is the resting membrane potential?
Buildup of ions on each side of the cell membrane
- creates a polarized membrane
- separation of charges creates potential energy
- resting membrane potential is -70mV
What factors contribute to the resting membrane potential?
1. Distribution of ions on either side of cell membrane
- extracellular fluid rich in Na+ and Cl-
- intracellular fluid rich in K+ and anions like negatively charged proteins
2. Relative permeability of cell membrane to the ions
- K+ and Cl- slightly more permeable than Na+
- impermeable to intracellular proteins
- There is a slow K+ leak w/not much of a Na+ leak