Neuroanatomy-Overview of The Nervous System Flashcards
What are the two main systems that the nervous system can be divided into?
Central and peripheral nervous systems
What does the CNS comprise of?
The brain and spinal cord
What does the PNS comprise of?
12 pairs of cranial nerves
31 pairs of spinal nerves and their branches
In early brain development (~4 weeks) how many visible swellings/vesicles are there in the neural tube?
3
Prosencephalon
Mesencephalon
Rhombencephalon
At 6-8 weeks in brain development, the 1st and 3rd vesicles divide to make a total of 5 vesicles. What are the names of these 5 vesicles?
Telencephalon Diencephalon Mesencephalon Metencephalon Mylencephalon
What does the telencephalon develop into?
Cerebral hemispheres
What does the diencephalon develop into?
Thalamus, hypothalamus
What does the mesencephalon develop into?
Midbrain
What does the metencephalon develop into?
Pons, cerebellum
What does the myelencephalon develop into?
Medulla oblongata
The combination of the midbrain, pons and medulla oblongata is called?
The brainstem
The combination of the thalamus and hypothalamus is called?
The diencephalon
What is the role of neurons?
The “communicators”
They receive information via synapses and integrate the information for transmission via electrical impulses to other neutrons or effector cells.
Are neurons mostly multipolar or unipolar?
Multipolar with many dendrites and one axon
What are glial cells?
The “glue”
No connective tissue in CNS so these “glue” the cells
Which cells is more numerous in the CNS, neurons or glial?
Glial cells!
What are the four major types of glial cells?
Astrocytes
Oligodendrocytes
Microglia
Ependymal cells
What is the role of an astrocyte?
Star-shaped cell.
Supports
Maintains blood-brain-barrier
Environmental homeostasis
What is the role of oligodendrocytes?
Produce myelin in the CNS (NOT PNS)
How do oligodendrocytes produce myelin?
Numerous branches extend to produce internodes of myelin around different axons
What is the role of microglia?
Immune monitoring and antigen presentation
Similar lineage to macrophages
‘Migrant’ cell of CNS
How good is the brain at lymphoid cell trafficking?
Very very slow
What is the role of ependymal cells?
Ciliated cuboidal/columnar epithelium that lines the ventricles
What is a gyrus (plural gyri)?
Bump in grey matter on surface of brain
What is a sulcus (plural sulci)?
Sunken down part on surface of brain
What is a fissure?
Same as a sulcus but deeper
What is contained in the grey matter?
Huge numbers of neurons, cells processes, synapses and support cells
What is contained in the white matter (medullary centre)?
Axons (most myelinated and their support cells)
Where are axons mostly found in the brain?
In the white matter on the inside
Think huge telephone cables
In the spinal cord what is the ‘H’-like pattern comprised of?
Grey matter
In the spinal cord what is the outside comprised of?
White matter
When axons travel in parallel along the white matter what is this referred to as?
Columns
How many columns are there in the spinal cord?
Posterior (dorsal) columns
Lateral columns
Anterior (ventral) columns
Which two gyri are associated with the central sulcus?
Precentral gyrus
Postcentral gyrus
What does the lentiform nucleus comprise of?
Putamen
Globus pallidus
In the coronal plane of the brain a white matter track that crosses from left to right is visible what is the name of this track?
Corpus callosum
What are the cingulate sulcus and gyrus associated with?
Memory
In the cerebellum what are the lumps and bumps called?
Follia and sulci
This is because they are compressed and resemble the “tree of life” hence folio from foliage
What are the landmarks for the frontal lobe?
Large lobe anterior to the central sulcus and superior to the lateral sulcus
It is also anterior to a line drawn from the central sulcus down to the corpus callous
What are the landmarks for the parietal lobe?
It is posterior to the central sulcus, superior to the lateral sulcus and anterior to a line from parieto-occipitaq sulcus to the pre-occipital notch
What are the landmarks for the occipital lobe?
Posterior to a line from the parieto-occipital sulcus to the preoccipital notch
What are the landmarks for the temporal lobe?
Inferior to the lateral sulcus and posteriorly by a line from the parieto-occipital sulcus and the pre-occipital notch
What is the name of the 5th hidden lobe?
Insular lobe or insula
What is the role of the insular lobe?
Role in patient’s experience of pain
What are the three meninges from superficial to deep?
Dura mater
Arachnoid mater
Pia mater
What are the ventricles inside the brain filled with?
CSF
Which ventricles produce CSF?
Lateral
3rd
4th
What is the enteric nervous system?
The nervous system found in the digestive system from oesophagus to rectum
Neurons are found largely in 2 plexuses in walls of gut
(Myenteric plexus and submucosal plexus)
What is the arterial blood supply to the brain called?
Vertebro-basilar system
Where does blood drain from the brain?
The dural venous sinuses drain into the internal jugular vein through the jugular foramen
