Spinal Nerves and The Peripheral Nervous System- Wilson Flashcards
Peripheral nerve lesions produces what types of sensory symptoms?
- anesthesia (no sensation)
- hypothesia (reduced sensation)
- parasthesia (abnormal sensation)
Peripheral nerve lesions produces what types of motor symptoms?
- flaccid paralysis (low motor neuron injury)
- paresis (partial paralysis or muscle weakness)
- muscle atrophy (wasting of muscle)
What are the ways peripheral nerves may be lesioned?
A. compression -entrapment syndromes -joint dislocations -fractures -vessel aneurysms -herniated discs B. Cutting and tearing C. Evulsion (avulsion) to pull out D. Repetitive motion E. Bacterial or viral infections (polio and leprosy) F. Neuropathy (diabetes)
How many cranial and spinal nerves are there? Which part of the nervous system do they each represent?
12 cranial nerves - CNS
31 spinal nerves - PNS
What are the different types of spinal nerves? List their region and the number of nerves located in the region?
8 cervical nerves 12 thoracic nerves 5 lumbar nerves 5 sacral nerves 1 coccygeal
Why are there 8 cervical nerves although there are 7 cervical vertebrae?
Nerves go above and below the vertebrae. If we consider the skull as an extra vertebrae we will have 8 cervical nerves.
What is the functional unit of the nervous system?
neuron
What are the neuronal structures assigned to the following functions?
- where neurons receive info from other neurons (whether excitatory or inhibitory)
- all data converges at this site; contains a nucleus
- beginning of axon that will carry info to the next neuron
dendrites: receptive sites
Soma: integrator
Axon hillock
Axons can go bidirectionally. True or false?
FALSE!!
Axons only go in one direction as action potentials can only go in one direction.
-either to the CNS or away from the CNS
Neurons only have 1 axon. True or false?
TRUE!!!
What are the different types of tissue that receive innervation?
muscle: contraction
glands: secrete
neurons: excite or inhibit
What happens to the action potential if there is cutting, severing, or injection of anesthesia ?
the action potential will not go to completion and propagation of the action potential is blocked
What types of cells compose most of the nervous system?
supporting cells
Neurons have lot of mitochondria. True or false?
True
they need lots of energy
What are cells in the CNS and PNS that produce myelin?
- Schwann cells in the PNS
- Oligodendricytes in the CNS
What are the functions of myelin?
- insulates the electrical activity of axons
- increase conduction velocity (propagation of action potential is faster)
- impulse propagation is more energy efficient (
There are multiple schwann cells for a single neuron and the same applies to oligodendricytes. True or false?
FALSE!!!
There is only one schwann cell for a single neuron.
Oligodendricytes are able to myelinate numerous axons?
Guillian-Barre Disease and multiple sclerosis are both demyelinating diseases. How are they different in terms of the types of cells they affect?
Guillian-Barre Disease affects schwann cells (PNS).
Multiple sclerosis affects oligodendricytes (CNS).
What type of neurons make up the sensory part of the PNS?
pseudo-unipolar neurons
it is a general sensory neuron found in ganglia
Motor neurons are primarily found where?
spinal cord
Histologically if you cut the brachial plexus cross-sectionally do you expect to see dendrites, axons, or cell bodies?
brachial plexus is a nerve
nerves are bundles of axons
So NO dendrites or cell bodies should be seen in this cross-section.
In the PNS, nerves are covered by what 3 connective tissue sheaths?
- every individual axon is covered bu an endoneurium
- bundles of axons are covered by perineurium
- an entire neuron is covered by epineurium
What are the connective tissue surrounding the axons in the CNS?
There are NO CONNECTIVE TISSUE surrounding axons in the CNS.
Thus axons in the CNS do not regenerate (no axonal regeneration) after injury but rather form glial scars.
Why are schwann cells and connective tissue important for regeneration of damaged axons?
They guide growth cones from the axonal stump back to the target tissue and thus they are able to find the original myelin and endoneurium.
Why do nerve lesions produce oftens times are RANGE of motor and/or sensrory symptoms?
Nerves of the PNS contain hundreds to millions of nerve fibers which each may serve a different function.
What is the difference between efferent and afferent axons in the PNS?
efferent axons: take action potentials away from the CNS (motor neurons)
afferent axons: take action potential toward the CNS (spinal cord and brain); these axons are sensory
The developing embryo shows metamerism which is?
blocks of tissue that repeat themselves
What is the relationship between the developing spinal cord and the developing somites and the idea of segmentation?
somites gives rise to:
- sclerotome which form vertebrae
- myotomes: skeletal muscles of the body
- dermatome: skin
they all have segmental organization just like the somites (makes sense)