Week 2

Question 1

What is the pons in the brain?

Answer 1

The bridge between the brain and the spinal cord.

Question 2

What is the glia?

Answer 2

Connective tissue of the CNS.

Question 3

What are the meninges? What is it made up of?

Answer 3

The 3 connective tissue membranes around the spinal cord. There is the pia mater which closely surrounds the spinal cord and contains blood vessels to supply it. Then there is the arachnoid mater which has a cob web like structure. Betweem this and the pia mater is the subarachnoid space which contains blood vessels and cerebral spinal fluid. Finally there is the dura mater which is a thick, tough outer layer.

Question 4

What does the ectoderm form?

Answer 4

The nervous system and the skin.

Question 5

What does the mesoderm form?

Answer 5

The cardiovascular, musculoskeletal and reproductive system, the kidneys, endothelium and limbs.

Question 6

What does the endoderm form?

Answer 6

The respiratory, urinary and auditory system, the pancreas, liver and gut.

Question 7

Are parasympathetic pre-ganglionic neurones long or short?

Answer 7

Long

Question 8

What is a metabotropic and ionotropic receptor?

Answer 8

Metabotropic involves a second messenger system, ionotropic involves opening ion channels.

Question 9

What happens in smooth muscle contraction?

Answer 9

Trigger calcium enters and binds to calmodulin which activates myosin light chain kinase. This phosphorylates the light chains on the myosin heads and increases myosin ATPase activity. This helps the formation of the myosin crossbridges.

Question 10

What happens in smooth muscle relaxation?

Answer 10

Calcium unbinds from calmodulin. Myosin phosphatase removes the phosphate from the light chains on the myosin heads which decreases myosin ATPase activity.

Question 11

In the IP3 second messenger system, what enzyme is activated?

Answer 11

Phospholipase C.

Question 12

Does the hypothalamus produce releasing or stimulating hormones?

Answer 12

Releasing hormones.

Question 13

What is an example of a glucocorticoid?

Answer 13

Cortisol.

Question 14

What is an example of a mineralocorticoid?

Answer 14

Aldosterone.

Question 15

What do the different cytochrome P450 enzymes do?

Answer 15

CYP1A- paracetamol and caffeine
CYP2C- ibuprofen and warfarin
CYP2D- codeine, porpranolol and SSRIs
CYP2E- alcohol and paracetamol
CYP3A- 50% of drugs

Question 16

What is catabolism and anabolism?

Answer 16

Catabolism is breaking molecules down. Anabolism is making molecules.

Question 17

What is prone and supine?

Answer 17

Prone is face down, supine is face up.

Question 18

What is enteric nervous system?

Answer 18

The nerves of the gut.

Question 19

What is the grey matter and white matter?

Answer 19

Grey matter is the cell bodies of the neurons, white matter is the axons of the neurons.

Question 20

When does the blastocyst form?

Answer 20

Day 4, the cells differentiate into the inner cell mass and the trophoblast.

Question 21

When does embryo folding occur?

Answer 21

Day 22-28

Question 22

Is the membrane more permeable to sodium or potassium?

Answer 22

Potassium.

Question 23

What are examples of rapid adapting receptors?

Answer 23

Meissner corpuscles, some hair follicle cells and pacinian corpuscles.