Neuroanatomy Flashcards
What does anterior mean?
In front of; toward the face
What does posterior mean?
Behind; toward the back
What does superior mean?
Above; toward the head
What does inferior mean?
Below; toward the feet
What does medial mean?
Toward the middle
What does lateral mean?
Toward the edge
What does dorsal mean?
in terms of the brain as well as the spinal cord
Toward the top of the brain
OR
the back of the spinal cord
What does ventral mean?
in terms of the brain as well as the spinal cord
Toward the bottom of the brain
OR
the front of the spinal cord
What does rostral mean?
in terms of the brain as well as the spinal cord
Toward the front of the brain
OR
the top of the spinal cord
What does caudal mean?
in terms of the brain as well as the spinal cord
Toward the back of the brain
OR
the bottom of the spinal cord
what is the coronal plane?
a verticle plane that runs parallel to the eyes or ears
what is the sagittal plane?
a vertical plane in the rostral-caudal direction, it divides objects into right and left regions
what is the horizontal plane?
divides objects into top and bottom regions
what are the five brain divisions?
(ending in -phalon)
Telencephalon
Diencephalon
Mesencephalon
Metencephalon
Mylencephalon
If the brain can be divided into three gross structures, what are they?
- Cerebrum
- Brain stem
- Cerebellum
what is the corpus callosum?
a C shaped structure of white matter and nerve pathways in the centre of the cerebrum via white the hemispheres communicate
what does the brainstem comprise?
- Midbrain (mesencephalon)
- Pons
- Medulla
what are the three parts of the meninges?
- Dura Mater (outer)
- Arachnoid
- Pia Mater (inner)
Describe the Dura mater
Thick and tough. It includes two layers: The periosteal layer of the dura mater lines the inner dome of the skull (cranium) and the meningeal layer is below that. Spaces between the layers allow for the passage of veins and arteries that supply blood flow to the brain.
Describe the Arachnoid mater
a thin, weblike layer of connective tissue that does not contain nerves or blood vessels. Below the arachnoid mater is the cerebrospinal fluid, or CSF. This fluid cushions the entire central nervous system (brain and spinal cord) and continually circulates around these structures to remove impurities.
Describe the Pia mater
a thin membrane that hugs the surface of the brain and follows its contours. The pia mater is rich with veins and arteries.
breifly describe the cerebrum
The cerebrum (front of brain) comprises gray matter (the cerebral cortex) and white matter at its center. The largest part of the brain, the cerebrum initiates and coordinates movement and regulates temperature. Other areas of the cerebrum enable speech, judgment, thinking and reasoning, problem-solving, emotions and learning. Other functions relate to vision, hearing, touch and other senses.
what volume of the brain is made of subcortical brain structures?
what nuclei does it include?
Subcortical brain structures comprise roughly ** 25%** of human total brain volume and consist of a heterogeneous group of grey matter nuclei, including the thalamus, basal ganglia, hippocampus, amygdala, and nucleus accumbens
where is the diencephalon?
what structures does it consist of?
The diencephalon is the area of the brain between the telencephalon and brainstem.
It consists of the thalamus, subthalamus, hypothalamus, and epithalamus.
how many ventricles are there?
total 4; 2 lateral and 3rd and 4th ventricle
continuous with each other- filled with csf
why can ventricle size be indicative of atrophy?
entricles expand to take up space if there is any atrophy in the brain – so they can be indicative of this
the thalamus receives sensory information through the … and then sends it to the …
the thalamus receives sensory information through the spinal cord and then sends it to the primary somatorsensory cortex
how does the cortex regulate signals in the thalamus
cortex sends descending pathways to striatum to regulate the signals in the thalamus
also thalamus forms part of a circuit ‘loop’ with the striatum that is important in controlling input to the cortex
what structure in involved in extrapyramidal motor control?
basal ganglia
what structures make up the striatum?
caudate nucleus and putamen
what is the reticular formation?
a set of interconnected nuclei that are located throughout the brainstem.
The reticular formation includes ascending pathways to the cortex in the ascending reticular activating system (ARAS) and descending pathways to the spinal cord via the reticulospinal tracts
