Principles of Neuroanatomy Flashcards
What is the coronal plane?
Plane that divides anterior from posterior
What is sagittal or median plane?
Plane that is medial to show 2 lateral parts
What is transverse or horizontal plane?
Plane that divides superior from inferior
What is meant by medial?
Closer to middle
What is meant by lateral?
Closer to sides
What is meant by dorsal?
Refers to back
What is meant by ventral?
Refers to the front or abdominal region
How do dorsal + ventral differ between brain + spinal chord? Why?
Axis shifts for brain because humans walk upright:
Dorsal = superior portion of brain
Ventral = inferior portion of brain
What is meant by rostral?
Towards the nose
What is meant by caudal?
Towards the tail
How do rostral + caudal differ between brain + spinal chord? Why?
Axis shifts for brain because humans walk upright:
Dorsal = anterior portion of brain
Ventral = posterior portion of brain
What are the 2 subdivisions of the nervous system?
→ central
→ peripheral
What does the CNS consist of?
Brain + spinal chord
→ contains majority of nerve cell bodies + synaptic connections
What does the PNS consist of?
All of the nerve fibres that originate from the CNS
→ is the link between CNS and periphery of the body
What are the subdivisions of the PNS?
→ somatic
→ autonomic
What does the somatic nervous system do?
Voluntary control of skeletal muscles + detection of changes in the external environment
What does the automatic nervous system do?
Involuntary control of automatic processes + detection of changes of the viscera
What are the 2 subdivisions of the ANS?
→ sympathetic
→ parasympathetic
What is the purpose of the sympathetic nervous system?
Acts to stimulate + mobilise energy eg flight or fight response
What is the purpose of the parasympathetic nervous system?
Acts to conserve energy eg rest + digest processes
What are afferent neurones?
Sensory neurones - Carry info from peripheral receptors to the CNS
What are efferent neurones?
Motor neurones - Carry impulses away from the CNS
What is grey matter?
Nerve cell bodies (e.g. central portion of spinal chardlt surface of cerebral hemisphere)
What is white matter?
Nerve processes - often myelinated axons
What is a nuclei?
Nerve cell bodies W/ similar anatomical connections + functions located together in a group
What is a nervous tract?
Nerve processes w/ com mon connections + functions running in pathways or tracts.
What are the 3 general divisions of the brain?
→ midbrain
→ forebrain
→ hindbrain
What does the midbrain do?
→ Helps regulate movement
→ process auditory + visual info
→ connects forebrain + hindbrain
What does the forebrain consist of?
Cerebral hemispheres + diencephalon
What does the forebrain do?
→ Processes sensory info
→ helps W/ reasoning +’ problem-solving
→ regulates autonomic + endocrine + motor functions
What does hindbrain consist of? What does it do?
→ helps to regulate autonomic functions + relay sensory information, coordinate movement + maintain balance + equilibrium
→ medulla + pos + midbrain
What is the cerebral cortex?
The surface of the 2 cerebral hemispheres
What are the 4 lobes of the cerebral cortex?
→ frontal
→ parietal
→ temporal
→ occipital
What does the frontal lobe do?
the higher functions e. g. decision-making + reasoning + planning + intelligence + attention + language processing + consciousness of emotion + voluntary motor control.
What does the parietal lobe do?
responsible for sensation + awareness of surroundings + concerned w/ orientation (contains primary somatosensory cortex )
What does the occipital lobe do?
processes the visual sensory information (contains the
visual cortex)
What does the temporal lobe do?
too much! but contains hippocampus + amygdala, Wernicke’s area, auditory cortex, etc.
