Physiology Flashcards
What are the different types of glia in the CNS and PNS?
CNS
- Astrocytes
- Oligodendrocytes
- Microglia
- Ependymal cells
PNS
- Satellite cells
- Schwann cells
What is CNI, what does it innervate, where does it pass through skull?
Olfactory nerve
Special sensory - smell
Passes through cribriform plate of ethmoid bone
What is CNII, what does it innervate, where does it pass through skull?
Optic nerve
Special sensory - vision
Passes through optic canal
What is CNIII, where does it emerge, where does it pass through skull, what does it innervate?
Oculomotor nerve
Emerges from midbrain
Somatic motor (extraocular muscles and eyelid muscles)
Visceral motor - parasympathetic for pupil constriction and to ciliary muscle causing lens accommodation
Passes through superior orbital fissure
Muscles
- recti (superior, medial, inferior)
- inferior oblique
- levator lapebrae superioris (eyelid)
What is CNIV, where does it emerge, where does it pass through skull, what does it innervate?
Trochlear nerve
Emerges from dorsal surface of midbrain
Somatic motor of superior oblique
Passes through superior orbital fissure
What is CNV, where does it emerge, where does it pass through skull, what does it innervate?
Trigeminal Emerges from pons, travels through trigeminal ganglion - V1 exits via superior orbital fissure - V2 exits via foramen rotundum - V3 exits via foramen ovale
V1 - general sensory - forehead, scalp, eyelids, nose
V2 - general sensory - face over maxilla, maxillary teeth, TMJ, palate
V3 - general sensory - face over mandible, mandibular teeth, TMJ, mouth mucosa, anterior 2/3rds of tongue
- somatic motor - muscles of mastication, part of digastric
What is CNVI, where does it emerge, where does it pass through skull, what does it innervate?
Abducens nerve
Emerges between pons/medulla
Exits via superior orbital fissure
Somatic motor - extraocular muscle (lateral rectus)
What is CNVII, where does it emerge, where does it pass through skull, what does it innervate?
Facial nerve
Emerges from pons and medulla
Exits via internal acoustic meatus/stylomastoid foramen
Various components
- somatic motor - facial expression, stapedius, part of digastric
- visceral motor - parasympathetic innervation of submandibular/sublingual salivary glands, lacrimal glands, nose/palate glands
- general sensory - external acoustic meatus
- special sense - taste from anterior 2/3rds of tongue/palate
What is CNVIII, where does it emerge, where does it pass through skull, what does it innervate?
Vestibulocochlear nerve
Emerges between pons and medulla and exits via internal acoustic meatus, divides into vestibular and cochlear nerves
Special sensory - vestibular sensation and hearing
What is CNIX, where does it emerge, where does it pass through skull, what does it innervate?
Glossopharyngeal nerve
Emerges from medulla
Exits via jugular foramen
Various components
- special sensory - taste from posterior 1/3rd of tongue
- general sensory - cutaneous sensation from middle ear, posterior oral cavity
- visceral sensory - sensation from carotid body and sinus
- somatic motor - to stylopharyngeus
- visceral motor - parasympathetic to parotid gland
What is CNX, where does it emerge, where does it pass through skull, what does it innervate?
Vagus
Emerges from medulla
Exits via jugular foramen
Various components
- special sensory - taste from epiglottis and palate
- general sensory - sensation from auricle, external acoustic meatus
- visceral sensory - pharynx, larynx, trachea, bronchi, heart, oesophagus, stomach, intestine
- somatic motor - pharynx, larynx, palate, oesophagus
- visceral motor - parasympathetic innervation in bronchi, gut, heart
What is CNXI, where does it emerge, where does it pass through skull, what does it innervate?
Accessory nerve
Small cranial (medulla) and large spinal roots
Exit via jugular foramen
Somatic motor - striated muscle of soft palate, pharynx, larynx, and to SCM and trapezius
What is CNXII, where does it emerge, where does it pass through skull, what does it innervate?
Hypoglossal nerve
Emerges from medulla
Exits through hypoglossal canal
Somatic - to muscles of tongue
What are the pyramidal tracts made up of? Where do they cross?
Corticospinal and corticobulbar tracts
- motor fibres
Lateral Corticospinal fibres (90% of all CST fibres) decussate in pyramids Anterior decussate (10% of CST fibres) at spinal level
Corticobulbar tract supply contralateral cranial nerves
Where do motor neurons have their cell bodies?
Ventral horn
What information travels up the lateral spinothalamic tracts?
Pain and temperature from contralateral side
- crosses at level of entry (or close to)
- travels through VPL nucleus of thalamus, to post central gyrus in parietal lobe
What information travels up the dorsal column of the spinal cord?
Fine touch
Tactile localisation
Vibration sense
Proprioception
Of ipsilateral side
- crosses at medulla (gracile and cuneate nuclei)
- travels up through medial lemniscus in pons, VPL nucleus in thalamus, to post central gyrus in parietal lobe
What is Brow-Sequard syndrome?
Hemisectional damage to spinal cord
- ipsilateral loss of touch, vibration, proprioception
- contralateral loss of pain, temperature
- contralateral (spastic) paralysis
How many neurons are in a single ascending pathway, and a single descending pathway?
3 neurons in ascending pathways
- neuron to DRG
- DRG to synapse in dorsal horn of SC
- dorsal horn to thalamus (after crossing over)
2 neurons in descending pathway
- UMN (cortex to ventral horn)
- LMN (ventral horn to motor unit)
What is the frontal lobe of the brain responsible for?
Primary Motor cortex - precentral gyrus
Inferior frontal gyrus - Broca’s area
Prefrontal cortex - cognitive functions of higher-order, judgement, prediction, planning
What is the parietal lobe responsible for?
Primary sensory cortex - postcentral gyrus
Superior parietal lobule - interpretation of general sensory information
Inferior parietal lobule - interface between PSC and visual/auditory areas (in dominant hemisphere)
What is the temporal lobe responsible for?
Superior temporal gyrus - primary auditory cortex
Auditory association areas - Wernicke’s in dominant hemisphere - auditory understanding
Inferior surface - receives fibres from olfactory tract
What is the occipital lobe responsible for?
Medial surface of lobe - primary visual cortex
Rest of lobe is visual association cortex - image interpretation