The Nervous System

Question 1

The two parts of the nervous system are what and what do they consist?

Answer 1

The CNS consisting of the brain and spinal cord. The PNS containing the cranial, spinal nerves, the ganglia and other sensors and receptors.

Question 2

What is the function of the nervous system?

Answer 2

Sensory: detecting changes in the environment.
Integration: processing and decision making.
Motor: Telling the body what to do in response.

Question 3

What is a ganglia?

Answer 3

A ganglia is a place where a nerve will meet another nerve to pass signals.

Question 4

What is the difference between the somatic and autonomic nervous system?

Answer 4

The somatic nervous system controls the voluntary/conscious control and the autonomic nervous system controls the things on a sub-conscious level.

Question 5

What is the job of the enteric nervous system?

Answer 5

The ENS is involuntary and is involved in the sensory/motor signalling in the GI tract helping with digestion.

Question 6

What is the job of a neuron? And what is it’s structure?

Answer 6

A neuron is composed of the cell body, dendrites and axons, its job is to send electrical signals to other neurons/effectors.

Question 7

What helper cell helps the produce myelin sheaths in the CNS?

Answer 7

Oligodendrocytes

Question 8

What is a fissure?

Answer 8

A fissure is the split/division of 2 parts of the brain.

Question 9

What is the function of gyrus and sulcus?

Answer 9

It maximizes the surface area of the brain

Question 10

What makes up the cerebrum?

Answer 10

The cerebrum is made up of white matter and grey matter/

Question 11

What are the lobes of the brain?

Answer 11

Frontal, parietal, occipital and temporal lobes.

Question 12

What is the job of the thalamus?

Answer 12

The thalamus passes sensory signals to the cerebrum from other areas of the brain/spinal cord.

Question 13

What is the function of the hypothalamus?

Answer 13

The hypothalamus controls the autonomic nervous system and endocrine system.

Question 14

What is the function of the basal nuclei?

Answer 14

Basal nuclei passes voluntary motor signals from the cerebrum to other parts of the brain and spinal cord.

Question 15

What are the different tracts and what are their functions?

Answer 15

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.

Question 16

What is the midbrain and what is it composed of?

Answer 16

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.

Question 17

What are the 3 types of meninges layers and their job?

Answer 17

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.

Question 18

What is cerebral spinal fluid?

Answer 18

It is a fluid that runs within the subarachnoid space and bathes the brain in fluid, protecting it.

Question 19

Name the 4 ventricles and it’s pathway

Answer 19

2 Lateral Ventricle connect to the interventriular foreman to the third ventricle and is connected to the forth ventricle by the aqueduct.

Question 20

What is rami and what is the function of rami?

Answer 20

The anterior rami will group together to form plexus, they are branches of spinal nerves and carry sensory/motor neurons.

Question 21

What are the 4 plexus and their function?

Answer 21

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.

Question 22

Where does the medial nerve run down?

Answer 22

The anterior arm/forearm innervating those muscles.

Question 23

What is the musculocutaneous nerve?

Answer 23

It runs along the anterior arm and innervates the interior arm muscles.

Question 24

Where does the ulnar nerve run? What does the olecranon process innervate?

Answer 24

It will run the posterior of the elbow joint and run medial to the olecranon process innervating muscles in the hand.

Question 25

Where does the radial nerve run?

Answer 25

It runs on the posterior of your arm, innervating the posterior arm/forearm.

Question 26

What are the 12 cranial nerves?

Answer 26

The olfactory, optic, oculomotor, trochlear, trigeminal, abducens, facial, vestibulochlear, glossopharyngeal, vagus, spinal and hopoglossal.

Question 27

What is a postganglionic neuron?

Answer 27

It is not myelinated, in the autonomic nervous system and it involves 2 neurons sending signals across each other.

Question 28

What hormones get released into the blood from the adrenal glands?

Answer 28

NE/E

Question 29

How many cranial nerves send parasympathetic motor signals?

Answer 29

4 Cranial Nerves

Question 30

Where can sympathetic signals be found?

Answer 30

They can be found from T1-L2