Overview of the Nervous System

Question 1

What are the two main subdivisons of the nervous system?

Answer 1

Central Nervous System
Peripheral Nervous System

Question 2

What is CNS composed of?

Answer 2

Brain and spinal chord

Question 3

What is PNS composed of?

Answer 3

peripheral nerves and they contain a mixture of sensory fibres which carry info from periphery (touch or pain) to CNS
OR
contain motor fibres which carry instructions from brain to limb telling them to move

Question 4

What can peripheral nervous system be further divided into?

Answer 4

autonomic (involuntary)
and
somatic (voluntary nervous system)

Question 5

Give examples of autonomic nervous system?

Answer 5

blood pressure, heartrate, respiratory rate

Question 6

Give examples of somatic nervous system?

Answer 6

skeletal (movements you are aware of)

Question 7

What further 3 subdivisions can we divide autonomic nervous system into?

Answer 7

sympathetic - adrenaline , fight or flight response

parasympathetic - responsible for rest and digest

enteric - controls gastrointestinal tract

Question 8

Where is cerebrum and what is its function?

Answer 8

Large bit of brain on top

Question 9

Where is cerebellum and what is its function?

Answer 9

bit of brain below and responsible for controlling balance and coordination

Question 10

Describe the physical appearance of the cerebrum?

Answer 10

not perfectly smooth
bumps on surface- gyri
groves between - sulci

Question 11

What are the purpose of sulci?

Answer 11

increase surface area of cerebrum and pack in a lot more neurons

Question 12

What are the important sulci?

Answer 12

Lateral sulcus (divides temporal brain from rest of the cerebrum)
Central sulcus (separates frontal lobe from parietal lobe)
Sulcus at the back ( separates parietal lobe from occipital lobe)

Question 13

Why does surface of brain looks shiny?

Answer 13

brain not anchored to skull by any ligaments, instead protected by three layers of connective tissue known as meninges and brain floats in cerebrospinal fluid to cushion it

Question 14

What is the pia matter?

Answer 14

deepest layer of meninges and the thinnest
really tight layer of cling film that clings to surface of brain

Question 15

What is the arachnoid matter?

Answer 15

above the pia matter

Question 16

What is the dura matter ?

Answer 16

most superficial layer of meninges

Question 17

What is diencephalon made up of ?

Answer 17

thalamus
hypothalamus (body temp, thirst and hunger)

Question 18

What is brain stem composed of?

Answer 18

midbrain
pons
medulla oblongata

Question 19

What is spinal cord composed of?

Answer 19

-31 pairs of spinal nerves

8 in cervical region (necks, shoulders and arms)

12 in thoracic (chest and abdomen)

5 in lumbar (hips and legs)

5 in sacral (genitalia and gastrointestinal tract)

1 in coccygeal

Question 20

What is role of dorsal root and dorsal root ganglia?

Answer 20

dorsal root- carries sensory fibres that carry info from periphery to central nervous system

dorsa root ganglia- where cell bodies of sensory fibres are contained

Question 21

What is ventral root

Answer 21

contains the motor fibres, carry signals away from CNS to the periphery

Question 22

Describe physical characteristics of spinal cord?

Answer 22

on outside of spinal cord have white matter and this is because it mostly contains axons

grey matter on inside and this is because mostly contains cell bodies

in grey matter- dorsal horn and ventral horn
and this goes with dorsal root ganglion and ventral root

Question 23

What happens to afferent/ sensory fibres?

Answer 23

carry signals through dorsal root towards spinal cord
cell bodies are in dorsal root ganglia
synapse in dorsal root horn

Question 24

What happens to efferent/ motor fibres?

Answer 24

cell bodies in ventral root horn
travel along ventral root and off to periphery

Question 25

How do afferents and efferents communicate?

Answer 25

through inter neurons