The Nervous System Flashcards
The two parts of the nervous system are what and what do they consist?
The CNS consisting of the brain and spinal cord. The PNS containing the cranial, spinal nerves, the ganglia and other sensors and receptors.
What is the function of the nervous system?
Sensory: detecting changes in the environment.
Integration: processing and decision making.
Motor: Telling the body what to do in response.
What is a ganglia?
A ganglia is a place where a nerve will meet another nerve to pass signals.
What is the difference between the somatic and autonomic nervous system?
The somatic nervous system controls the voluntary/conscious control and the autonomic nervous system controls the things on a sub-conscious level.
What is the job of the enteric nervous system?
The ENS is involuntary and is involved in the sensory/motor signalling in the GI tract helping with digestion.
What is the job of a neuron? And what is it’s structure?
A neuron is composed of the cell body, dendrites and axons, its job is to send electrical signals to other neurons/effectors.
What helper cell helps the produce myelin sheaths in the CNS?
Oligodendrocytes
What is a fissure?
A fissure is the split/division of 2 parts of the brain.
What is the function of gyrus and sulcus?
It maximizes the surface area of the brain
What makes up the cerebrum?
The cerebrum is made up of white matter and grey matter/
What are the lobes of the brain?
Frontal, parietal, occipital and temporal lobes.
What is the job of the thalamus?
The thalamus passes sensory signals to the cerebrum from other areas of the brain/spinal cord.
What is the function of the hypothalamus?
The hypothalamus controls the autonomic nervous system and endocrine system.
What is the function of the basal nuclei?
Basal nuclei passes voluntary motor signals from the cerebrum to other parts of the brain and spinal cord.
What are the different tracts and what are their functions?
Commissural tracts: connects the right/left hemisphere
Projection tracts: carry sensory information to from the grey matter down to the spinal cord and bring motor signals back to the cortex.
Longitudinal tracts: travel all the way through the hemisphere.
Arcuate tracts: stay within their same lobe.
What is the midbrain and what is it composed of?
The midbrain is composed of the midbrain, pons and medulla oblongata, it helps with eye movement snd visual/audible reflexes which connect to the cerebellum through a peduncle.
What are the 3 types of meninges layers and their job?
Dura mater: is the tough external layer for protecting the brain.
Arachnoid mater: it has fibre attachments connecting to the pia mater, between the two there is cerebral spinal fluid.
Pia mater: is the inner layer of meninges.
What is cerebral spinal fluid?
It is a fluid that runs within the subarachnoid space and bathes the brain in fluid, protecting it.
Name the 4 ventricles and it’s pathway
2 Lateral Ventricle connect to the interventriular foreman to the third ventricle and is connected to the forth ventricle by the aqueduct.
What is rami and what is the function of rami?
The anterior rami will group together to form plexus, they are branches of spinal nerves and carry sensory/motor neurons.
What are the 4 plexus and their function?
Cervical Plexus: innervates C1-C4, the skin, skeletal muscles, neck and upper shoulder and chest.
Brachial Plexus: C5-T1, the upper limbs it contains C8 because the spinal nerves begin above C1.
Lumbar Plexus: the anterior and medial parts of the leg, L1-L4
Sacral Plexus: gets contribution from L4, L4-S4 and innervates the posterior aspects of the lower limb.
Where does the medial nerve run down?
The anterior arm/forearm innervating those muscles.
What is the musculocutaneous nerve?
It runs along the anterior arm and innervates the interior arm muscles.
Where does the ulnar nerve run? What does the olecranon process innervate?
It will run the posterior of the elbow joint and run medial to the olecranon process innervating muscles in the hand.
Where does the radial nerve run?
It runs on the posterior of your arm, innervating the posterior arm/forearm.
What are the 12 cranial nerves?
The olfactory, optic, oculomotor, trochlear, trigeminal, abducens, facial, vestibulochlear, glossopharyngeal, vagus, spinal and hopoglossal.
What is a postganglionic neuron?
It is not myelinated, in the autonomic nervous system and it involves 2 neurons sending signals across each other.
What hormones get released into the blood from the adrenal glands?
NE/E
How many cranial nerves send parasympathetic motor signals?
4 Cranial Nerves
Where can sympathetic signals be found?
They can be found from T1-L2
