Peripheral nervous system: LN/R Flashcards
What are sensory receptors?
-general sensory endings are scattered profusely throughout the body
-they are biological transducers, in which physical or chemical stimuli create action potentials in nerve endings
-the resulting nerve impulses, on reaching the CNS, produce reflex responses, awareness of the stimuli, or both
-these structures respond to stimuli for pain, temperature, touch and pressure
What are afferent neurons?
Two broad categories of afferent neurons:
1.) Somatic afferents
- For the skin, bones, muscles, and connective tissue that makes up most of the mass of the body (soma)
2.) Visceral afferents
-for the internal organs of the circulatory, respiratory, alimentary, excretory and reproductive systems
Describe somatic efferent neurons
-The cell bodies of somatic efferent neurons (also called motor neurons) are in the ventral grayhorns of the spinal cord and motor nuclei of cranial nerves
-The axons of ventral horn cells traverse (travel through) the ventral roots and spinal nerves and terminate in motor end plates on skeletal muscles fibres
Describe the visceral efferent neurons (autonomic system)
- Has a special feature, in that at least 2 neurons participate in transmission from the CNS to smooth muscle, cardiac muscle, or secretory cells
What are peripheral nerve fibres arranged in?
Bundles or fascicles (except the very small ones)
What is the entire PNS surrounded by?
Epineurium (derived from mesodermal cells), this is composed of ordinary connective tissue, and it also fills the spaces between the fascicles
What does undulations in the epineurial collagen fibres around each fascicle allow for?
Stretching of the nerve that accompanies flexion of joints and other movement
What is the sheath that encloses each small bundle of fibres in a nerve?
Perineurium (derived from mesodermal cells), consists of several layers of flattened cells.
What is within the Perineurium?
individual nerve fibres have a delicate covering of connective tissue called endoneurium (derived from mesodermal cells) (or sheath of Henle)
What is within the endoneurium?
The axons are intimately ensheathed by neuroglial cells (Schwann cells), which are derived from the neural crest and constitute the neurolemma (or neurilemma) or sheath of Schwann
What does the nerve fibre consist of?
-the axons
-the myelin sheath (of fibres in groups A and B)
-the neurolemma (sheath of Schwann)
What does the cytoplasm of an axon (axoplasm) contain?
Neurofilaments, microtubules, patches of smooth-surfaced endoplasmic reticulum, and mitochondria (the plasma membrane of axon = axolemma)
What are the components of schwann cells?
Neurolemma and myelin sheath
What does neurolemma consist of?
The cytoplasm of Schwann cell, of the myelin sheath
what is myelin sheath interrupted by at intervals?
Nodes of Ranvier, distance between nodes vary from 100 micrometres to 1 mm
How many Schwann cells to each internode (part that’s myelinated)
1 schwann cell to each internode
What does the myelin sheath?
electrically insulates the internodal parts of the axon
Where are voltage-gated sodium channels present in the axolemma? and what does this arrangement allow? and what is this transmission called?
Only at the nodes, allows action potentials to skip electrically (instantaneously) from node to node –> called saltatory conduction
What are the most rapidly conducting myelinated fibres?
Those with the largest diameters and the longest internodes
how many unmyelinated axons do schwann cells envelop?
Up to 15, the cell and its included axons constitute a Remak fibre
What are exteroceptors? (or exteroceptive endings)
-The superficially located sensory receptors, such as those in skin.
-respond to stimuli for pain, temperature, touch and pressure
What are interoceptors?
Deep sensory receptors and can be categorised as:
-visceroceptors
-Proprioceptors
What are visceroceptors?
Found in the viscera, are adapted to respond to changes to stretch, pressure, chemical composition and osmotic pressure
What are the classes of cutaneous sensory endings?
-Non-encapsulated endings
-Encapsulated endings
What are non-encapsulated endings?
These are terminal branches of the axon that may either be closely applied to cells or lie freely in the extracellular spaces of connective tissue
What are encapsulating endings?
These have distinctive arrangements of non-neuronal cells that completely enclose the terminal parts of the axons
What is epidermis?
- Most superficial layer of skin primarily functions as a first line of defence for physical, chemical, viral and bacterial harm
- layered full of stratified squamous epithelium
-basal layer is made up of stem cells. Cells are constantly produced and the upper layers are constantly shedded
What is the dermis?
-Cushions the body from stress and strain. 2 layers.
-The dermal plexus is located in the deeper part of the dermis.
-the papillary plexus lies in the papillary layer of the dermis, immediately beneath the epidermis
What is hypodermis/ subcutaneous tissue?
-insulating fatty layer, also used for energy storage. Where the subcutaneous plexus is located (this lies in the loose connective tissue in skin)
What are free nerve endings?
-non-encapsulated sensory endings
-widely distributed throughout the body, including the epidermis, dermis and subcutaneous tissue
-the terminal end (receptor) is devoid of myelin. Group C fibres and unmyelinated group A fibres
-the afferent axons are either myelinated or non-myelinated
-these occur in the subcutaneous tissue and dermis, and some extend among the cells of the epidermis
-most detect pain, whilst some detect crude touch and pressure
-invested in Schwann cells and do not contact the extracellular fluid directly
What are merkel discs?
-non-encapsulated sensory endings
-located on hairless skin like fingertips and soles of feet, as well as between hair follicles
-these are found in the germinal layer (stratum basale) of the epidermis
-axonal branches end as flattened disc-shaped expansions, each being closely applied to the Merkel cell (epithelial cell)
-slow adapting receptor to sense the degree of pressure on the skin, such as when holding a pen
What are hair follicle receptors (peritrichial nerve endings)?
- non-encapsulated sensory nerve endings
-located in hairy skin
-nerve fibres that wind around the outer connective tissue sheath of hair follicles, below the sebaceous gland.
-fast adapting receptor to sense sensitive/light touch
-a single axons sends branches to many hair follicles… and a single follicle is supplied by 2- 20 axons
-bending of the hair stimulates the nerve. Whilst bent, the stimulation stops. When the hair is released, a further impulse is initiated
-an extreme form of these are found in whiskers
Wha is the ruffini corpuscle?
-encapsulated sensory endings
-typically, 1mm long and 20-20micrometres wide
-respond to mechanical stimuli that pull on the collagen fibres attached to its capsule, when pressure on or stretching of the skin causes movement in the subcutaneous tissue
-each corpuscle consists of branches from a single myelinated nerve. The branches are surrounded by a cellular capsule
-slow adapting mechanoreceptor, located deep in the dermis of hairy skin which respond to temperature
-no pain when there is a deep burn because these have been burned off
-some evidence they response to sustained pressure and stretch (mismatch of evidence)
-present in subcutaneous tissue and dermis of both hair and glabrous skin
What is the Pacinian corpuscle?
-Encapsulated sensory endings
-Functionally, Pacini corpuscles are representative of RA II-LTMRs (group A Beta-fibres type II low-threshold receptors)
-respond to pressure and vibratory stimuli between 20 and 1500 Hz, with a maximum sensitivity at 200-400 Hz
-sustained deformation causes a change of shape without mechanically disturbing the axon in the centre
-most rapidly adapting (attributed to the fluid between the many layers of corpuscle)
-consists of a single axon that loses its myeline sheath and is encapsulated by several layers of flattened cells with greatly attenuated cytoplasm
-ellipsoidal –> about 1mm long and 0.7mm wide
-present in the subcutaneous tissue and dermis of both hairy and glabrous skin
What is Meissner’s corpuscle?
-Encapsulated sensory endings
-adapt rapidly
-sensitive to mechanical deformation
-they occur in large numbers in he dermal papillary ridges of the fingertips and are less abundant in other hairless regions
-Responsible for sensing low vibration frequencies and fine touch/movement
-identify with great accuracy the positions and movements of objects touching or moving across the surface of skin
-each Miessner’s corpuscle is supplied by 3 or 4 myelinated axons whose terminal branches from a complicated knot that is enclosed in a cellular and collagenous capsule
-Meissner’s corpuscle, are about 80 by 30 micrometres in size and are oriented with their long axes perpendicular to the skin’s surface
What are End bulbs?
-encapsulated sensory endings
-respond to tactile stimuli
-They vary in size and shape, and several types have been described (e.g., end bulbs of Krause, Golgi-Mazzoniendings)
-they are commonly spherical, about 50 micrometres in length, with each containing a coiled, branching axonal terminal in a thin cellular capsule
-Most end bulbs occur in mucous membranes (mouth, conjunctiva, anal canal) and in the dermis of glabous skin close to orifices (lips, external genitalia)
What are proprioceptors?
-they are located in the capsules of joints, muscles, and tendons
-they furnish the CNS with information required for the performance of properly coordinated movements through reflex action
-proprioceptive information reaches consciousness so that there is awareness of the position of body parts and of their movements (kinesthetic sense or conscious proprioception)
What are nociceptors?
-pain that arises in muscles, tendons, ligaments, and bones detected by these free nerve endings in connective tissue
-nociceptive endings respond to physical injury and to local chemical changes such as those causes by inflammation or ischemia