Neuroanatomy 1

Question 1

What are tracts?

What are commisures?

Answer 1

Location of a pathway e.g. spinothalamic tract

Tract connecting one hemisphere to the other e.g. anterior commisure

Question 2

What are lemnisci? What are funiculi? What are fasiculi?

Answer 2

Narrow strips of fibres e.g. medial lemniscus
Rope/ cord e.g. lateral funiculus
Bundle e.g. gracile fasiculus

Question 3

What is a capsule? What is a column?

Answer 3

A sheet of white matter fibres borders a nucleus of grey matter
Longitudinally running fibres are separated by other structures e.g. dorsal column

Question 4

What is the cortex? What are nuclei? What are ganglia?

Answer 4

Laminated grey matter on the outside of the brain e.g. motor cortex
Collections of nerve cell bodies within the CNS e.g. arcuate nucleus
Collections of nerve cell bodies outside the CNS e.g. dorsal root ganglia and some in CNS with capsule e.g. basal ganglia

Question 5

What are afferents? What are efferents?

Answer 5

Axons taking information towards the CNS e.g. sensory fibres

Axons taking information to another site e.g. motor fibres

Question 6

What does reticular mean? What does rostral mean? What does caudal mean? Dorsal and ventral in brainstem and cord? In cerebrum however?

Answer 6

'Netlike'- where grey and white matter mix e.g. reticular formation of brainstem 
Towards nose (anterior) 
Towards tail (posterior) 
Dorsal= posterior, ventral= anterior
Dorsal= superior, ventral= inferior

Question 7

Some functions of the brain/

Answer 7

Control and command centre, receives sensory information, provides motor output, integration, consciousness, thought, emotion, memory, planning etc.

Question 8

Functions of frontal lobe?

Answer 8

Voluntary movement on opposite side of body, of dominant hemisphere controls speech and writing
intellectual functioning, thought processes, reasoning and memory

Question 9

Functions of parietal lobes? Temporal lobes? Occipital lobes?

Answer 9

Receives and interprets sensations, including pain, touch, pressure, size, shape and body-part awareness
Understanding spoken word, sounds, memory and emotion
Understanding visual images and meaning of written words

Question 10

Which grey matter structures deep in the white matter surround the ventricles?

Answer 10

Thalamus- relay centre directing inputs to cortical areas
Hypothalamus- links endocrine system to brain, homeostasis
Basal ganglia- motor control, cognition and non-motor behaviour

Question 11

Function of the cerebellum?

Answer 11

Coordinates movement and balance