Week 1 - Intro and brain body connection Flashcards
What is a cerebrovascular accident?
Something that effects the blood flow to the brain or in the brain
White matter in the brain
Responsible for communication between various grey matter regions
Schwann cell is the cell that wraps around the axon of the neurone and protects it, as it is made of fatty myelin - it is white. Fat is white in the human brain. Fat can be from white to brown.
Grey matter in the brain
Where the processing is done in the brain
Made up of cell bodies of neurones
Corticospinal tract
Pathway neurones travel from the brain to the spinal cord - being efferent (motor)
What % of neurones crosses over above the spinal cord when travelling the corticospinal tract?
85%
Internuncial
Forming connections between other neurones in the CNS
They are found between UMN and LMN
Upper motor neuron
The motor neurones responsible for the communication from the brain to the spinal cord. Once the impulse leaves through a spinal nerve it is called a lower motor neuron.
True or false: The corticospinal tract is primarily a group of
lower motor neurones (LMN)
False
Peripheral nerve lesion
No increase in muscle tone, if muscle is wholly supplied by that nerve there will be no muscle activity.
Why does muscle tone increase with an UMN lesion
As the UMN is no longer able to communicate with the muscles, the LMN “relfex centre” will be overworked therefore causing a lot of muscle activation
What ascending pathways affected in stroke patients
Loss of sensation will be a factor to a stroke patient on one side of the body. Sensation loss can be vague, diffuse, global, on one side.
If the spinal nerve of L2 was cut you would expect to see what in the quads
A partial loss of muscle activity in the quadriceps
The meninges layer from superficial to deep
- Dura mater = thick bilaminar layer, most superficial
- Arachnoid mater = thin, middle layer (spider web
i.e.latin name) - Pia mater = delicate and intimately bonded to neural structure
Function of meninges
- Protect the brain
- Supporting structure for vascular components
- Enclose fluid filled cavity (subarachnoid space)
i.e. the cerebrospinal fluid
What happens to the layers from brain to spinal cord?
They are continuous from brain to spinal cord
If the meninges was not continuous from brain to spinal cord, what would happen to the cerebrospinal fluid?
It would leak from the brain.
Cranium is categorised into two areas
Neurocranium, viscerocranium
What enters the foramen magnum?
The spinal cord and blood supply
What landmarks you must know or palpate in the cranium
Mandible, frontal bone, parietal bone, temporal bone, occipital bone
Palpate
Cranium
1. Zygomatic arch
2. TMJ (open/shut mouth)
3. Mastoid process
4. External occipital
protuberance (look up to
take tension off nuchal
ligament)
Extra
1. Spinous process from C2 to L5
2. Transverse process from C2 to
C6
3. External occipital protuberance
4. Temporomandibular jt
5. Mastoid process
6. Clavicle
7. Scapula
8. Radius
9. Ulnar
10. Acromioclavicular jt
11. Metacarpals
12. Phalanges
13. Metacarpophalangeal jts
14. Interphalangeal jts
The course of blood from heart to brain (both ways)
From heart to brain is the carotid artery and the vertebral artery
From the brain to the heart is the external and internal jugular vein
2 types of strokes and what occurs and which is most common?
Ischaemic stroke which is loss of blood flow which leads to damage to brain tissue from it being starved of oxygen.
Haemorrhagic stroke which is where a blood vessel ruptures and bleeding into cerebral tissue has killed nuerones from pressure or chemical troxicity.
Ischaemic is most common.
Lesions from superior to inferior in the CNS and PNS
Neural lesion -> UMN lesion -> LMN lesion -> spinal nerve lesion -> peripheral nerve lesion
Three pathological mechanisms by which a CVA can occur
Aneurysm, embolism, blockage
An aneurysm will eventually cause a break within the blood vessel wall, resulting in blood loss. Blood is very toxic to neural tissue, which will cause it to become damaged. Loss of blood via an aneurysm will also reduce the normal blood flow upstream to parts of the brain where it is required for oxygen and nutrients. Blockages and embolisms will physically reduce blood flow (and therefore oxygen and nutrients) by occluding the blood vessels.
