Spinal Cord (In Depth) Flashcards
length of spinal cord (inches and landmarks)
17 “ long, from brainstem to L1
cauda equina
collection of nerve roots that runs from conus medullaris to the coccyx
spinal dura mater
- single layer protective sheath around spinal cord
- separated from vertebral column via epidural space
epidural space
- filled with fat
- cushions spinal cord
filum terminale
- extension of pia mater
- inferior anchor for spinal cord
- extends from conus medullaris to coccyx
conus medullaris
official end of spinal cord at L1 vertebra
spinal tap
- removal of CSF for diagnostic testing
- performed at CSF filled subarachnoid space inferior to end of cord at L1 (this limits possibility of injuring spinal cord w/needle)
2 surface grooves of spinal cord
- anterior median fissure
2. posterior median sulcus
central canal
- opening through entire spinal cord
- contains CSF
white matter of spinal cord (in depth)
- contains myelinated + unmyelinated nerve fibers organized into columns
- descending tracts send impulses down cord
- ascending tracts send impulses to brain
tract
- bundle of axons in CNS
- each tract crosses over to opposite side of cord –> reasons that left side of brain controls right side of body
spinal nerve
where dorsal and ventral roots on each side of cord join together
gray matter
- mixture of cell bodies of neurons
- arranged into horns (regions)
anterior (ventral) horns (2)
- contain somatic motor neurons (whose axons are efferent pathways to skeletal muscle via the ventral root)
- smaller, connected to each other via gray commissure
posterior (dorsal) horns (2)
- afferent pathways from receptors
- exit via dorsal root of cord
