Spinal Cord Flashcards
dorsal root ganglia (DRG)
*contain the cell bodies of sensory neurons
*NO SYNAPSES in the DRG
dorsal root (of a spinal segment)
*axons of sensory neurons (with cell bodies in DRG)
*afferents
ventral root (of a spinal segment)
*axons of motor neurons innervating skeletal muscles
*efferents
gray matter
*enriched with nerve cell bodies (soma)
*stains lightly on myelin stain
white matter
*enriched with axons
*stains darkly on myelin stain
gray and white matter organization in the spinal cord
*gray matter (cell bodies) on the INSIDE
*white matter (axons) on the OUTSIDE
organization of gray matter in the spinal cord
1) posterior/dorsal horn (sensory - cell bodies of neurons for pain & temp)
2) anterior/ventral horn (motor - cell bodies of lower motor neurons)
3) lateral horn (cell bodies of sympathetic nervous system; only found in the thoracic region)
organization of white matter in the spinal cord
1) lateral corticospinal tract (motor axons; descending)
2) posterior/dorsal column (sensory axons for vibration and proprioception; ascending)
3) spinothalamic tract (sensory axons for pain and temperature; ascending)
spinal segment
the portion of the spinal cord that forms a specific spinal nerve
spinal nerve
a mixed nerve formed by the joining of the dorsal root (sensory) and the ventral root (motor)
anterior horn
contains cell bodies of LOWER MOTOR NEURONS
posterior/dorsal horn
contains cell bodies of sensory neurons for pain and temperature (location of first synapse for the spinothalamic tract)
spinothalamic tract - general function
carries ascending sensory information about PAIN, TEMPERATURE, and CRUDE TOUCH
spinothalamic tract - pathway
1) first neuron enters the spinal cord, immediately synapsing in the posterior/dorsal horn, and decussates
2) second neuron ascends all the way up the spinal cord, through the brainstem, and into the thalamus, synapsing in the VPL nucleus
3) third neuron carries the info from the VPL to the somatosensory cortex
spinothalamic tract - level of decussation
decussates at the level of the spinal cord that it enters into
damage to spinothalamic tract leads to
contralateral loss of pain and temp
dorsal column-medial lemniscus - general function
carries ascending sensory information about VIBRATION, PROPRIOCEPTION, and FINE TOUCH
dorsal column-medial lemniscus - pathway
1) first neuron enters the spinal cord and ascends (on the ipsilateral side) all the way up to the caudal medulla, where it synapses in either the nucleus gracilis or the nucleus cuneatus
2) second neuron (after synapse) decussates in the caudal medulla and ascends through the brainstem, synapsing in the VPL nucleus of the thalamus
3) third neuron carries info from the VPL to the somatosensory cortex
dorsal column-medial lemniscus - level of decussation
decussates in the caudal medulla
dorsal column-medial lemniscus - damage to the spinal cord causes
IPSILATERAL loss of propriception/vibration
dorsal column-medial lemniscus - damage to the brainstem causes
CONTRALATERAL loss of proprioception/vibration
corticospinal tract - general function
carries descending MOTOR information from the cortex to skeletal muscles
corticospinal tract - pathway
1) first neuron travels from cortex down through brainstem, decussating in the caudal medulla (decussation of pyramids) and continues to descend through the spinal cord, synapsing in the anterior horn at the level of the spinal cord where it wants to create an activity
2) second neuron carries the signal from the anterior horn out to the periphery to innervate the muscle
corticospinal tract - level of decussation
caudal medulla (decussation of pyramids)