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102 > the nervous system > Flashcards

the nervous system Flashcards

1
Q

What are the two parts of the nervous system?

A
  • Central Nervous System
  • Peripheral Nervous System
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2
Q

What does the peripheral NS divide into?

A
  • The afferent NS (sensory)
  • The efferent NS (motor)
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3
Q

What does the efferent NS divide into?

A
  • The somatic NS (controlled)
  • The autonomic NS (automatic)
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4
Q

What does the autonomic NS divide into?

A
  • The sympathetic NS (fight or flight)
  • The parasympathetic NS (rest & repair)
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5
Q

What does the central NS divide into?

A
  • The brain
  • The spinal cord
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6
Q

What are the parts of the brain?

A
  • Cerebrum
  • Cerebellum
  • Brain stem
  • Diencephalon
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7
Q

What are the parts of the brain stem?

A
  • Medulla
  • Pons
  • Midbrain
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8
Q

What are the parts of the Diencephalon?

A

Thalamus
- Hypothalamus
- Epithalamus

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9
Q

What are the meninges?

A

inner protective covering of the brain and spinal cord (outer part of the brain)

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10
Q

What are the three layers of the meninges?

A
  • Dura mater
  • Arachnoid mater
  • Pia mater
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11
Q

Describe the Dura mater.

A
  • Outermost layer
  • Strong white fibrous connective tissue
  • forms inner periosteum of the cranial bones
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12
Q

Describe the Arachnoid mater.

A
  • Delicate (cobweb like) middle ‘cushion’ layer
    -Smooth
  • Cerebrospinal fluid in the subarachnoid space cushions the brain
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13
Q

Describe the Pia mater.

A
  • Innermost transparent layer directly covering brain and spinal cord
  • follows brain’s wrinkles
  • has blood vessels- brain bleed
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14
Q

What are the three main meninges-related spaces?

A
  • Epidural space
  • Subdural space
  • Subarachnoid space
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15
Q

Describe the epidural space

A

between dura matter and bony coverings in spinal cord- cushioning function with fat and connective tissue

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16
Q

Describe the subdural space

A

between dura mater and arachnoid mater- lubricating function with serous fluid

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17
Q

Describe the subarachnoid space

A

between arachnoid mater and pia mater- cushioning function with lots of cerebrospinal fluid

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18
Q

Where is cerebrospinal fluid made?

A

Choroid plexuses from blood plasma by ependymal cells

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19
Q

What is cerebrospinal fluid?

A
  • Cushioning fluid protecting the brain and spinal cord
  • found in subarachnoid spaces and cavities/canals
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20
Q

How much cerebrospinal fluid is there?

A

about 140ml
- 117 in subarachnoid spaces
- 23 in CSF ventricles

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21
Q

What does the cerebrospinal fluid monitor?

A

Change in the internal environment
- CO2 levels
- triggers hypothalamus

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22
Q

What does interference with CSF flow cause (tumor)

A

Build up of pressure on nervous tissue -> damage -> coma or death

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23
Q

What is the largest division of the brain?

A

The cerebrum (83% of brain mass)

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24
Q

Describe the cerebrum

A
  • Largest brain division
  • 4 lobes (5th small lobe)
  • Has elevated ridges (gyri and sulci)
  • White matter inside, grey outside
  • Basal nuclei are deep inside
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25
Q

What is the function of the cerebrum?

A
  • Sensory and motor functions
  • 47-52 functional ‘Brodmann areas’ in the cortex
  • touch, pressure, temperature, body position, vision, hearing, intelligence, learning, memory
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26
Q

What area of the brain is responsible for speech?

A

Broca’s area of the frontal lobe of the cerebrum

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27
Q

What is the left hemisphere of the cerebrum involved in?

A

language and gestures

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28
Q

What is the right hemisphere of the cerebrum involved in?

A

auditory stimuli (crying, laughing, music

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29
Q

Where is the diencephalon located?

A

Between the cerebrum and midbrain

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30
Q

What are three important structures of the diencephalon?

A

thalamus, hypothalamus, epithalamus

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31
Q

Describe the thalamus

A
  • receives incoming sensory impulses
  • regulates sleep (damage -> coma)
  • Produces sensations and their associations
  • arousal
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32
Q

What is the hypothalamus referred to as?

A

The survival and pleasure centre

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33
Q

What two systems does the hypothalamus connect?

A

Nervous and endocrine

34
Q

What does the hypothalamus regulate?

A
  • Homeostasis
  • Alert state
  • growth hormone secretion
    (terrible if damaged)
35
Q

What is the epithalamus?

A

Small structures outside the thalamus and hypothalamus

36
Q

What are some areas of the epithalamus?

A

The pineal gland
- Regulates biological clock
- produces melatonin
The optic chiasma
- optic nerves cross and exchange fibres
Choroid plexuses
- CSF produced here

37
Q

What is the pretectum?

A

A sub organ which receives input from eyes and controls pupillary light reflex (dilation)

38
Q

What are the three divisions of the brain stem?

A
  • Medulla Oblongata
  • Pons
  • Midbrain
39
Q

Where is the medulla oblongata?

A

The lowermost part which joins with the spinal cord

40
Q

What is the most vital part of the brain?

A

The medulla oblongata- injury or disease causes death

41
Q

Where are the ‘vital centres’ located?

A

The vital centres (cardiac, vasomotor, respiratory), are located in the medulla oblongata.

42
Q

What is the function of the medulla oblongata?

A

controls heart action, blood vessels, breathing, coughing, sneezing

43
Q

Where is the pons located?

A

Between the midbrain and the medulla oblongata

44
Q

What is the function of the pons?

A
  • contains response centres for cranial nerves v,vI,VII,VIII
45
Q

Where is the midbrain located?

A

Above the pons and below the cerebrum (middle of brain)

46
Q

What does the midbrain contain?

A
  • Auditory and visual centres
  • clusters of neurons involved in muscular control
  • centres for pupillary reflexes and eye movements
47
Q

Where does the cerebellum lie?

A

Below the cerebrum

48
Q

What part of the brain has the highest concentration of neurons?

A

The cerebellum

49
Q

What are the functions of the cerebellum?

A
  • produces skilled movement by coordinating groups of skeletal muscles
  • Maintains muscle tone and posture
  • Coordinates balance
  • assists the cerebrum
50
Q

What is the definition of meningitis?

A

Inflammation of the meninges- usually of the arachnoid and pia mater.

51
Q

What are the symptoms of meningitis?

A
  • fever
  • severe headache
  • neck pain
  • photophobia
52
Q

What is meningitis usually caused by?

A

Bacterial infection

53
Q

What are some less likely causes of meningitis?

A
  • Viral infections
  • Tumors
54
Q

What are some disorders of the CNS?

A
  • Stroke (insufficient blood flow to neurons)
  • Cerebral palsy (damage by trauma, infection, poisons, reduced oxygen to brain)- voluntary muscle control is impaired
  • Dementia (Alzheimer’s)
  • Prion related diseases
55
Q

What does the autonomic nervous system do?

A

controls smooth muscle,
cardiac muscle and glands (“involuntary”)

56
Q

what does efferent mean?

A

outgoing motor pathways exiting brain

57
Q

What does afferent mean?

A

incoming sensory information from receptors

58
Q

What does the somatic nervous system do?

A

controls skeletal muscles and
external sensory receptors (“voluntary”)

59
Q

what are the two divisions of the autonomic nervous system?

A
  • sympathetic (fight or flight)
  • parasympathetic (R&R)
60
Q

What does the central nervous system do?

A

-Integrates and evaluates incoming sensory information
- initiates outgoing responses

61
Q

What does the peripheral nervous system consist of?

A
  • 12 pairs of cranial nerves (origin brain)
  • 31 pairs of spinal nerves (origin spine)
62
Q

What does the peripheral nervous system divide into?

A
  • Somatic
  • Autonomic
63
Q

What does the somatic nervous system control?

A

Skeletal muscles (voluntary)

64
Q

What does the autonomic nervous system control?

A

Smooth muscle (cardiac and glands, involuntary)

65
Q

What is the sympathetic division of the the autonomic nervous system?

A

‘fight or flight’ response
- expendble: wont die if severed

66
Q

What is the parasympathetic division of the autonomic nervous system? and some functions

A

‘rest and repair’ response
- necessary to sustain life
- slows heart, stimulates salivary secretions,

67
Q

What do neurons do?

A

conduct impulses

68
Q

What are the parts of a neuron?

A
  • Cell body
  • axon
  • dendrite
69
Q

What do glial cells do?

A
  • Support the function of neurons
  • Isolate nerve fibres from one another
  • Make up approx 50% of brain
70
Q

why are glial cells unlike neurons?

A

They can divide throughout life

71
Q

What are the types of glial cells?

A
  • Astrocytes
  • Microglia
  • Ependymal Cells
  • Oligodendrocytes
  • Schwann cells
  • Satellite cells
72
Q

Name and describe 4 types of glial cells

A

Astrocytes
- most abundant
- feed neurons lactic acid from glucose
Oligodendrocytes
- hold nerve fibres together
- produce phospholipid myelin sheaths around axons in CNS
Schwann cells
- Equivalent of oligodendrocytes for the PNS
Satellite cells
- type of schwann cell
- surrounds cell bodies with ganglia in PNS

73
Q

What is grey matter

A

Nerve tissue lacking myelin

74
Q

What is white matter?

A

grouped bundles of myelinated axons in CNS

75
Q

What is the peripheral nerve?

A

Bundle of myelinated axons that travel outside CNS

76
Q

What is a tract?

A

A group of myelinated axons that travel together within CNS, share origin, destination, function
- similar to nerves but run entirely within CNS

77
Q

What is a nucleus?

A

A group of neuronal cell bodies located in the same area and sharing the same function

78
Q

What is a ganglion?

A
  • similar to nuclei as also collections of neuronal cell bodies, but ganglion is outside CNS
79
Q

What is multiple sclerosis?

A

A disease of the CNS which consists of myelin loss due to injured or dead oligodendrocytes. Symptoms are weakness, loss of coordination etc.

80
Q

What are some peripheral nervous system disorders?

A

Acoustic neuroma:
- Lesion of Scwann cell sheath covering cranial nerve VIII
Multiple neurofibromatosis
- Benign Schwann cell nodules on skin

102 (19 decks)

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