The Nervous System Flashcards
What are the two areas which the nervous system can be divided into?
Central nervous system
Peripheral nervous system
What is contained within the central nervous system?
The brain and the spinal chord
What is the function of the brain within the CNS?
Processes information
What is the function of the spinal cord within the CNS?
Connects the brain with the peripheral nervous system
Which 2 pathways are contained within the peripheral nervous system?
The sensory pathway and the motor pathway
What is the function of the sensory pathway?
To keep the brain in touch with the body’s internal and external environments
What is the function of sensory nerve cells?
They carry nerve impulses to the CNS from receptors
Where are some receptors located?
In external sense organs such as the skin and the eyes.
What is the brains job after it processes and analyses information?
Its job is to send nerve impulses via the motor pathway to the body’s effectors
What can the peripheral nervous system be divided into?
Somatic and Autonomic nervous systems
What does the somatic nervous system control?
The SNS controls the voluntary movements of the body’s skeletal muscles
What does the ANS regulate?
Regulates the internal environment (homeostasis) by controlling structures and organs like the heart, bronchioles and blood vessels.
Is ANS control voluntary or involuntary?
Involuntary
What can the autonomic nervous system be divided into?
Sympathetic and parasympathetic divisions
What are the sympathetic and parasympathetic systems often describe as being?
Antagonistic to each other (work in opposition to each other)
