Neuropathology

Question 1

Approximately how many cells are in an adult brain?

Answer 1

85 million

Question 2

How many connections can one neuron make?

Answer 2

10,000

Question 3

Intracranial swelling can occur causing headaches and other symptoms, how does the body alleviate this?

Answer 3

Brain adapts by squeezing interstitial fluid, CSF and blood out of the skull

Question 4

What are the 3 membranes covering the brain?

Answer 4

dura mater, arachnoid and pia mater

Question 5

What is meningitis?

Answer 5

Infection fo the meninges from fungal, viral or bacterial agents

Question 6

What is meningioma?

Answer 6

Cancer of the meninges

Question 7

What is the role of CSF?

Answer 7

Central spinal fluid provides physical support for the brain, carrying away toxic metabolic by-products

Question 8

What happens if CSF is blocked somewhere in the brain?

Answer 8

Hydrocephalus develops. The build of fluid builds up pressure on the brain and can cause damage

Question 9

What makes cerebral vessels different from systemic arteries?

Answer 9

Cerebral vessels have a thinner media and lack of external elastic lamina. Autoregulation is used to direct blood flow to areas of the brain that need it in response to changes in pH, oxygen and CO2

Question 10

What are the names of the cranial nerves in order?

Answer 10

Occipital, ocular, ocular motor, trochlear, trigeminal, abducens, facial, vestibulocochlear, glossopharyngeal, vagus, accessory, hypoglossal

Question 11

What are the cranial nerves types in order?

Answer 11

Sensory, sensory, motor, motor, both, motor, both, sensory, both, both, motor, motor (Some Say Marry Money But My Brother Says Big Breasts Matter More)

Question 12

If someone takes a sagittal section what does it mean?

Answer 12

They created a line medially separating the left side of the body from the right

Question 13

What is a coronal section?

Answer 13

Front and back are separated

Question 14

What was the incident with Phineas Gage and the railroad spike?

Answer 14

He was blasting railroad lines with dynamite, a mishap led to the spike shooting through the frontal lobe of his brain and out the other side. This incident didn’t kill him, instead, it completely changed his personality as the frontal lobe is responsible for higher level thinking, reasoning, moral understanding etc.

Question 15

What is Broca’s aphasia?

Answer 15

A stroke patient that could understand language but not speak it, caused by the stroke being in the left frontal lobe

Question 16

What is Wernicke’s aphasia?

Answer 16

Stroke patient could speak but made now sense, language comprehension deficit but intact articulation. damaged area was where temporal and parietal lobes meet

Question 17

What does the cerebellum do?

Answer 17

Helps in coordination, voluntary movement and balance

Question 18

What does the hypothalamus do?

Answer 18

Directs several maintenance activities such as eating, drinking, body temp. Also, it helps govern the endocrine system and is linked to emotion

Question 19

What does the hippocampus do?

Answer 19

Consolidation of info from short-term to long-term memory and spatial navigation

Question 20

What does the amygdala do?

Answer 20

The amygdala is linked to fear, monkeys with damaged amygdalas had a dramatic drop of fearfulness

Question 21

What is the thalamus?

Answer 21

It is the brain sensory switchboard, located on top of the brainstem. It regulates consciousness, alertness and sleep. disorders with this can cause severe insomnia

Question 22

What is the corpus callosum?

Answer 22

A large bundle of neuro fibres connecting the two hemispheres allowing cross-talk between the hemispheres

Question 23

What is the white matter mostly consist of?

Answer 23

Mostly glial cells and myelinated axons that transmit signals from one region of the cerebrum to the other

Question 24

What are gyri, sulci and fissures in the brain?

Answer 24

Gyri are elevated ridges winding around the brain, sulci are small grooves that separate gyri, fissures are deep grooves that divide regions of the brain

Question 25

What do the 4 lobes of the brain each control?

Answer 25

Frontal - planning, decision making and speech. Parietal - sensory. Occipital - vision. Temporal - auditory

Question 26

What is multiple sclerosis?

Answer 26

An autoimmune disorder that is caused by a plaque build-up in the brain. It is characterised by a brown colouration in the white matter