Chapter 14: Nervous System: Spinal Cord and Spinal Nerves Flashcards
A typical adult spinal cord is approximately ___ of an inch in diameter and ranges between 42 and 45 centimeters (_____ inches) in length.
3/4 of an inch in diameter
16 to 18 inches
The spinal cord extends inferiorly from the ____ of the brain through the vertebral canal and ends at the inferior border of the L1 vertebra.
medulla oblongata
The tapering inferior end of the spinal cord is called the ______ which marks the official “end” of the spinal cord proper.
conus medullaris
Two enlargements are visible in the surface view of the spinal cord because they are ____ than other areas of the cord due to the greater number of neurons that extend from these enlargements to ______ the upper and lower limbs.
wider
innervate
The ____ enlargement is an enlarged region of the inferior cervical part of the spinal cord that contains the neurons that innervate the upper limbs.
cervical enlargement
The ____ enlargement is an enlarged region of the mid-lumbar part of the spinal cord that contains the neurons that innervate the lower limbs.
lumbosacral enlargement
The spinal cord is subdivided into ___ parts.
5
Associated with each part of the spinal cord there are the rootlets that form the ____ pairs of spinal nerves.
31
The ___ part of the spinal cord is the supeiormost part of the spinal cord.
cervical
The cervical part contains neurons whose axons contribute to the __ pairs of cervical spinal nerves.
8 pairs
The cervical part is continuous with the ____.
medulla oblongata
The ___ part lies inferior to the cervical part. It contains the neurons for the ___ pairs of thoracic spinal nerves.
thoracic
12
The ____ part is a shorter segment of the spinal cord that contains the neurons for the ____ pairs of lumbar spinal nerves.
lumbar
5
The ____ part lies inferior to the lumbar part and contains neurons for the ____ pairs of sacral spinal nerves
sacral
5
The ____ part is the most inferior tip of the spinal cord which has ____ pair of cocygeal spinal nerves arising from this part.
coccygeal
1
Different parts of he spinal cord do not match up exactly with the vertebrae of the same name due to the fact that the vertebrae growth continued longer than the growth of the spinal cord resulting in the _____.
cauda equina
L2-L5, S1-S5, and Col extend inferiorly from the ____ forming the cauda equina.
conus medullaris
The nerve roots of the cauda equina get their name b/c they resemble a ____.
horses’s tail
The filum terminale within the cauda equina is a thin strand of ____ that helps anchor the conus medullaris to the ____.
pia mater
coccyx
The intervertebral foramina are lateral openings between vertebrae, which provide the passageway for each spinal nerve to extend from the spinal cord and exit the ____.
vertebral canal
Each spinal nerve is identified by the first letter of the spinal cord part to which it attaches combines with a ___.
number
Each side of the spinal cord contains ____ cervical nerves, ____ thoracic nerves, ___ lumbar nerves, ___ sacral nerves, and ___ coccygeal nerve.
8 cervical nerves 12 thoracic nerves 5 lumbar nerves 5 sacral nerves 1 coccygeal nerve
Spinal nerve names are different than cranial nerve names because cranial nerves are designated by ___ followed by a roman numeral.
CN
The spinal cord is roughly ____, but slightly flattened posteriorly and anteriorly.
cylindrical