Neurological Flashcards
What does the CNS consist of?
Brain and spinal cord
What does the PNS consist of?
12 pairs of cranial nerves
31 pairs of spinal nerves
ANS (parasympathetic and sympathetic)
What is the sympathetic nervous system responsible for?
Fight or flight
What is the parasympathetic nervous system responsible for?
Rest and digest Salivation Lacrimation Urination Defecation Digestion
What are the layers of the spinal cord?
Epidural space Dura mater Subdural space Arachnoid mater Subarachnoid mater Pia mater
What is dura mater?
Protective covering for brain tissue
What makes up brain matter?
Gray and white matter
Do we have more gray or white matter?
Gray (demyelinated)
What does arachnoid mater do?
Like a spiderweb, holds white mater in place
What is pia mater?
Mater full of nerves and blood supply to brain
Where is CSF found?
Subarachnoid space
What does CSF do?
Provides cushion
Removes metabolic waste
Provides nutrition
Maintains normal ICP
What factors increase ICP?
BP sometimes Hypotonic solutions Lots of Na Lying down flat Rectal temps/suppositories (usually) Constipation/anything that increases strain (coughing)
What are the parts of the brain?
Cerebrum (cerebral cortex)
Cerebellum
Brainstem
Diencephalon
What makes up the diencephalon?
Hypo and thalamus
What vessels supply the brain?
2 internal carotid arteries
2 vertebral arteries
What is the largest part of the brain?
Cerebrum
Into what 4 parts is the cerebrum divided?
Frontal
Parietal
Temporal
Occipital
What is the frontal lobe responsible for?
Personality Speech Memory Behavior Emotion Intellectual function
What is the parietal lobe responsible for?
Sensation
What is the temporal lobe responsible for?
Hearing
Taste
Smell
What is the occipital lobe responsible for?
Visual reception
What is the hypothalamus responsible for?
Homeostasis Body temp Hunger Thirst Storage and secretion of hormones
What is the thalamus responsible for?
Relays info to parts of cerebral cortex
Regulates states of sleep and wakefulness
What can damage of the thalamus lead to?
Coma state
What two systems does the hypothalamus connect and how?
Hypothalamus connects the CNS with the endocrine system through the pituitary gland
Where is the diencephalon located?
On top of the brainstem
What does the brainstem consist of?
Midbrain
Pons
Medulla oblongata
What is the midbrain responsible for?
Processing visual and auditory info
Initiating involuntary motor responses
Maintaining consciousness.
What is the pons responsible for?
[physically] Connecting cerebellum to brainstem
Motor control
What is the medulla responsible for?
[physically] Connects brain and spinal cord
Involuntary functions Primitive life maintenance
Heart function
Breathing
Sneezing
Coughing
Vomiting
What happens if the brainstem herniates?
One is clinically dead by law
What is the cerebellum responsible for?
Coordination of voluntary movement
Equilibrium/balance
Muscle tone
Proprioception
What does a cerebellar injury lead to?
Uncoordinated movement
What is ataxia?
Uncoordinated movement
What is the spinal cord?
Continuation of the medulla
“Central highway” for sensory and motor impulses
Where does the spinal cord begin?
The base of the skull (foramen magnum)
What is the cauda equina?
Where L1 and L2 branch into lumbar and sacral nerve roots
What are the pairs of spinal nerves?
8 cervical 12 thoracic 5 lumbar 1 coccygeal 5 sacral
What do motor (efferent) roots do?
Carry impulses from brain to the spinal cord to the muscles & glands