Week 3 SDL and Practical Session: Brain, meninges and blood supply Flashcards

1
Q

Explain the significance of the cephalic flexure in terms of anatomical labels

A
  • the axis of the adult brain bends at an angle of about 100* between the midbrain and the diencephalon (the cephalic flexure)
  • the terms dorsal and ventral are used as though the flexure did not exist and the CNS was still a straight tube
  • therefore, in the spinal cord and brainstem, ‘dorsal’ means posterior, but in the forebrain, ‘dorsal’ means superior
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2
Q

What does grey matter consist of?

A

consists of neuronal cell bodies, neuropil (dendrites and unmyelinated axons), glial cells (astrocytes and unmyelinated axons), synapses and capillaries

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3
Q

What does white matter consist of?

A
  • found in deeper tissues of the brain

- contains nerve fibres (axons) covered with myelin, giving its white colour

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4
Q

What is the difference between white and grey matter?

A

grey matter contains numerous cell bodies and few myelinated axons

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5
Q

What is the cortex made up of?

A
  • grey matter
  • makes up 90% of visible surface of brain
  • 10mm thick and folded into sulci (grooves) and gyri (ridges) to increase surface area
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6
Q

What is a nucleus?

A

collection of nerve cell bodies (neurones) within the CNS

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7
Q

What is a tract?

A
  • made of white matter

- bundle of axons connecting nuclei of the CNS

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8
Q

What is a ganglion?

A
  • grey matter
  • collection of nerve cell bodies within the PNS e.g dorsal root ganglia and some in the CNS which have a capsule e.g basal ganglia
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9
Q

Which subdivisions of the brain make up the forebrain/ cerebrum?

A

telencephalon (which contains cerebral hemispheres) and diencephalon (which contains thalamus and hypothalamus)

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10
Q

What is the function of the pre-central gyrus and where is it located?

A
  • located in the frontal lobe

- primary motor cortex is responsible for executing voluntary movements

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11
Q

What is the function of the post-central gyrus and where is it located?

A
  • located in the parietal lobe

- primary sensory cortex is responsible for receiving sensory information

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12
Q

what is the corpus callosum composed of?

A

white matter - collection of axons that link the neurones

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13
Q

What is the function of the corpus callosum?

A

enables both sides of the brain to communicate and send signals to eachother

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14
Q

Which structures are made from the telencephalon?

A
  • cerebral cortex
  • hippocampus
  • amygdala
  • olfactory bulb
  • basal ganglia
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15
Q

Which structures are made from the diencephalon?

A
  • thalamus
  • subthalamus
  • hypothalamus
  • epithalamus
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16
Q

Which structures are made from the mesencephalon?

A
tectum
cerebral aqueduct
tegmentum
cerebral peduncles
midbrain
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17
Q

What structures are made from the metencephalon?

A

pons and cerebellum

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18
Q

What structures are made from the mylencephalon?

A

medulla

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19
Q

What are the 3 meninges that enclose the brain and spinal cord?

A
  • dura mater: thick, dense, fibrous layer of connective tissue composed mostly of collagen
  • arachnoid mater - spider-web appearance, thin and transparent
  • pia mater - thin, translucent, mesh-like
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20
Q

What 2 layers is dura mater made up of?

A
  • periosteal outer layer

- meningeal inner layer

21
Q

Where are dural venous sinuses found?

A

at some sites, the meningeal layer seperates from the periosteum to enclose blood filled spaces into which flows venous blood from the brain

22
Q

What is the name of the dural septum that extends down between the two hemispheres?

A

falx cerebri

23
Q

What is the name of the dural septum that extends between the occipital lobes of the hemispheres and the cerebellum?

A

tentorium cerebelli

24
Q

What are the arachnoid villi (also called arachnoid granulations) and what is their function?

A
  • arachnoid villi are small protrusions of arachnoid mater in the outer membrane of dura mater
  • they act as one way valves for the flow of CSF into venous blood, and hydrostatic pressure is the main stimulus that causes these valves to open
25
Q

Which vessel supplies the dura mater?

A

middle meningeal artery

26
Q

Describe the course of the internal carotid artery as it enters the skull

A
  • originates from carotid bifurcation
  • runs upward through the neck in the carotid sheath
  • enters the skull through the carotid canal (located in the petrous portion of the temporal bone)
27
Q

Describe the course of the vertebral artery as it enters the skull

A
  • arises from subclavian arteries
  • posterior to internal carotid
  • then proceeds superiorly, in the transverse foramen of each cervical vertebra
28
Q

What is the functional significance of the circle of willis?

A
  • allows collateral circulation (flow of blood through an alternative route) to take place if flow is reduced to one area / if artery on one side is occluded
  • equalises blood slow to different parts of the brain
29
Q

Each internal carotid artery gives rise to which arteries?

A
  1. ophthalmic artery
  2. posterior communicating artery
  3. anterior cerebral artery
30
Q

Which branches are given off from the vertebral arteries?

A
  • meningeal branch
  • anterior and posterior spinal arteries
  • posterior inferior cerebellar artery
31
Q

Which arteries do striate arteries arise from?

A

middle cerebral arteries

32
Q

Which two sets of veins drain blood from the brain and where do they course?

A
  1. superficial veins - run over the surface of the hemispheres and drain into the superior sagittal sinus
  2. deep veins - converse on the internal cerebral veins which eventually unite to form the great cerebral vein of Galen
33
Q

where is the superior sagittal sinus located?

A

lies along the superior edge of the falx cerebri

34
Q

Explain how blood travels from the superficial veins to the IJV?

A

Superficial veins –> superior sagittal sinus —> confluence of sinuses —> transverse sinuses —> sigmoid sinus —> IJV

35
Q

Explain how blood travels from deep veins to the IJV?

A

Deep veins —> internal cerebral veins —> great vein (of Galen) —> straight sinus —> confluence of sinuses —> transverse sinuses —> sigmoid sinus —> IJV

36
Q

What are the 3 main types of intracranial haemorrhage?

A
  • extradural
  • subdural
  • subarachnoid
37
Q

Which cranial fossa do the temporal lobes lie in?

A

middle cranial fossa

38
Q

bleeding from the middle meningeal artery would give rise to which type of intracranial bleed?

A

epidural

39
Q

What divides the pre and post central gyrus and what else does this structure mark?

A

central sulcus

marks the division between the frontal and parietal lobes

40
Q

What artery is the corpus callosum supplied by?

A

anterior cerebral artery

41
Q

what does the coronal suture separate?

A

frontal from parietal bones

42
Q

What does the sagittal suture separate?

A

paired parietal bones

43
Q

which sulcus separates the temporal lobe from the frontal and parietal lobes?

A

lateral sulcus

44
Q

which sulcus separates the left and right hemispheres

A

great longitudinal sulcus

45
Q

What attaches the falx cerebri to the skull?

A

the crista galli of the ethmoid bone

46
Q

What is the infundibulum/ pituitary stalk?

A
  • between the optic chiasma and the mamillary bodies

- connects to the pituitary gland

47
Q

What is a fasciculus?

A

collection of axons in the CNS

48
Q

What structures do the circle of willis surround?

A

surrounds the optic chiasma, infundibulum and the interpeduncular region

49
Q

What is the terminal bifurcation of the basilar artery?

A

posterior cerebral artery