CNS Flashcards

(84 cards)

1
Q

major parts of the brain

A
  • cerebrum
  • diencephalon (thalamus and hypothalamus)
  • cerebellum
  • brain stem (midbrain, pons, medulla oblongata)
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2
Q

white matter

A
  • bright pearly white color due to myelin around its nerve fibers
  • in most of the brain it is deep to gray matter (opposite of spinal cord)
  • composed of tracts (bundles of axons)
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3
Q

gray matter

A
  • little myelin, duller white color
  • forms the cortex and deeper masses called nuclei
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4
Q

cranial meninges

A
  • dura mater, arachnoid, pia mater
  • connective tissue membranes
  • cover and protect the CNS, protect blood vessels, enclose venous sinuses, contain CSF, partition the brain
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5
Q

dura mater

A
  • layer of meninges pressed closely against the cranial bone
  • two layers which are separated in some places by dural sinuses
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6
Q

superior sagittal sinus

A

dural sinus found just under the cranium along the median line

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7
Q

transverse sinus

A

dural sinus that runs horizontally from the rear of the head toward each ear

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8
Q

jugular veins

A

the place where the sinuses empty into

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9
Q

falx cerebri

A

extension of the dura mater into the longitudinal fissure as a wall between the cerebral hemispheres

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10
Q

tentorium cerebelli

A

extension of the dura mater is like a roof over the posterior cranial fossa and separates the cerebellum from the cerebrum

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11
Q

falx cerebelli

A

extension of the dura mater that partially separates the right and left halves of the cerebellum

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12
Q

arachnoid mater

A

transparent membrane over the brain surface

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13
Q

ventricles

A

four internal chambers of the brain that are filled with cerebrospinal fluid, continuous with each other and the central canal of the spinal fluid, and lined with ependymal cells

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14
Q

lateral ventricles

A

the largest ventricles, which form an arc in each cerebral hemisphere; separated by the septum pellucidum; interventricular foramen allow CSF to flow into third ventricle

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15
Q

third ventricle

A

ventricle in the diencephalon; CSF flows through cerebral aqueduct into fourth ventricle

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16
Q

fourth ventricle

A

triangular chamber between the pons and cerebellum in the brain stem; lateral apertures allow CSF to flow into subarachnoid space

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17
Q

choroid plexus

A

a mass of blood capillaries on the floor or wall

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18
Q

ependyma

A

a type of neuroglia that resembles cuboidal epithelium; lines ventricles and canals, covers the choroid plexuses, and produces CSF

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19
Q

blood-cerebrospinal fluid

A

made up of ependymal cells, which permit certain substances to enter the fluid but excludes others and protects the brain and spinal cord from harmful elements

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20
Q

cerebrospinal fluid (CSF)

A

a clear, colorless liquid that protects the brain and spinal cord against chemical and physical injuries and carries oxygen, glucose, and other needed chemicals from the blood to neurons and neuroglia

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21
Q

three ways the CSF contributes to homeostasis

A

1) Buoyancy
2) Protection
3) Chemical stability

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22
Q

blood vessels that deliver blood to the brain

A

internal carotid arteries and basilar artery

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23
Q

areas blood is drained into in the brain

A

dural sinuses and then into jugular veins

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24
Q

blood-brain barrier (BBB)

A

protects brain cells from harmful substances and pathogens by serving as a selective barrier to prevent passage of many substances from the blood to the brain

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25
stroke
caused by decreased blood supply - occlusion of cerebral blood vessel - hemorrhage (brain bleed) from cerebral blood vessel
26
brain bleed of epidural space
rapid bleeding
27
brain bleed of subdural space
slower bleeding
28
cerebrum
- the center of intelligence and personality - two hemispheres - cortex and medulla
29
cortex
superficial layer of the cerebrum
30
medulla
deeper layer of the cerebrum
31
gyrus
a thick fold of the cerebrum
32
sulcus
a shallow groove of the cerebrum
33
longitudinal fissue
separates the right and left hemispheres
34
transverse cerebral fissure
separates the hemispheres from the cerebellum
35
corpus callosum
a bundle of transverse white fibers that allows communication between the hemispheres
36
left hemisphere functional differences
- right-handed control - spoken and written language - numerical and scientific skills
37
right hemisphere functional differences
- left-handed control - musical and artistic awareness - space and pattern perception - insight/intuition - emotion, imagination, generating mental images of sight, sound, touch, taste, smell
38
functions of the cerebrum
- interpreting impulses - initiating voluntary movements - storing information as memory - retrieving stored information - reasoning - intelligence and personality
39
frontal lobe
- primary motor cortex (precentral gyrus) - voluntary motor functions - higher mental functions - Broca area (speech production, left hemisphere only) - anterior association area (cognition, mood, intelligence, social skills)
40
parietal lobe
- primary somatosensory corex - taste
41
primary somatosensory cortex
- allows spatial discrimination and the ability to detect the location of stimulation - touch, pressure, pain, stretch, movement, heat, cold, pain - sensory homunculus
42
primary gustatory cortex
in parietal lobe, receives taste signals
43
temporal lobe
- interprets hearing, smell, language - primary auditory cortex - auditory association area - primary olfactory cortex - Wernicke area (language recognition, left hemisphere only)
44
occipital lobe
- interprets vision - primary visual cortex
45
insula
- deep to the other lobes - language, taste, integrating visceral sensory information
46
cerebral medulla
- white matter beneath the cortex - glia and myelinated nerve fibers - communication between cerebral areas and the cerebral cortex and lower CNS centers
47
association fibers
fibers between gyri in the same hemisphere
48
commissural fibers
fibers from one hemisphere to the other - most pass through the corpus callosum, which forms the floor of the longitudinal fissure
49
projection fibers
fibers that form ascending and descending tracts and connect the cerebral cortex to the lower brain or cord centers
50
basal nuclei
- masses of cerebral gray matter buried in the white matter, lateral to the thalamus - help program habitual or automatic sequences and set an appropriate level of muscle tone - determine the onset and cessation of intentional movements, walking, and highly practiced learned behaviors (typing, tying shoes)
51
limbic system
- ring of structures on medial side of cerebral hemispheres, encircling corpus callosum and thalamus - "emotional brain," functions in emotional aspects of behavior and memory - associates smells with emotions and memories
52
diencephalon
- lies medial to the cerebral hemispheres and superior to the brainstem - surrounds the third ventricle and includes thalamus, hypothalamus, and epithalamus (pineal gland)
53
thalamus
- mediates sensation, motor activities, cortical arousal, learning, and memory - contains nuclei that serve as relay stations for all sensory impulses except smell to the cerebral cortex for interpretation
54
lateral geniculate nucleus
in thalamus; gateway for visual signals, sends them to occipital lobe
55
ventral lateral nuclei
motor integration (cerebellum, basal nuclei, projects to motor cortex)
56
mammillary body
contains three to four mammillary nuclei that relay signals from the limbic system to the thalamus
57
hypothalamus
- control center of the body - regulates ANS activity - initiates physical responses to emotions - regulates body temperature, food intake, water balance, thirst, sleep-wake cycles, and endocrine function - links nervous and endocrine systems
58
epithalamus
- superior and posterior to thalamus - contains pineal gland
59
pineal gland
secretes melatonin to influence diurnal cycles in conjunction with the hypothalamus
60
brain stem
- produces programmed automatic behaviors - provides a passageway for fiber tracts running between the cerebrum and spinal cord - provides innervation of the face and head through cranial nerves III-XII
61
medulla oblongata
- continuous with upper spinal cord - contains portions of both motor and sensory tracts - major portion of reticular formation runs through it - nuclei that are reflex centers for regulation of heart rate, respiratory rate, vasoconstriction, swallowing, coughing, vomiting, sneezing, and hiccupping
62
pons
- connects spinal cord with brain - relays nerve impulses related to voluntary skeletal movements from the cerebral cortex to the cerebellum - pneumotaxic and apneustic areas help control rate and depth of breathing along with respiratory center in the medulla
63
midbrain
- conveys motor impulses from the cerebrum to the cerebellum and spinal cord - sends sensory impulses from spinal cord to thalamus - regulates auditory and visual reflexes
64
superior colliculi
in midbrain; control vision and eye-related functions (visual tracking, blinking, focusing, etc)
65
inferior colliculi
in midbrain; receive signals from inner ear and relays them to other parts of the brain, especially the thalamus
66
reticular formation
complex network of nerve fibers scattered throughout the brain stem that consists of small areas of gray matter interspersed among fibers of white matter - sensory and motor functions
67
reticular activating system (RAS)
- alerts cortex to incoming sensory signals - responsible for maintaining consciousness and awakening from sleep - filters sensory information and arouses cerebral cortex into wakefulness, dampening familiar or weak sensory input - waking up to the alarm clock but not the train going by
68
four aspects of cerebellar function
- monitoring intent for movement - monitoring actual movement - comparing intent with actual performance - sending out corrective signals
69
functions of the spinal cord
- conduction pathway (receptor to sensory to inter to motor to effector) - processes reflexes - neural integration
70
meningitis
inflammation of the meninges
71
gray matter of spinal cord
- cell bodies and neuroglia and unmyelinated axons and dendrites of association and motor neurons - dorsal, ventral, and lateral horns
72
dorsal (posterior) horn
afferent nuclei of interneurons
73
ventral (anterior) horn
efferent nuclei of somatic lower motor neurons
74
lateral horn
autonomic nervous system preganglionic nuclei
75
ascending pathways
conduct sensory impulses upward through a chain of three neurons (first-, second-, third-order neurons)
76
first-order fibers
touch, pressure, proprioception - large, myelinated, and fast heat and cold - small, unmyelinated or lightly myelinated, slower
77
first-order neurons
detect stimulus and conduct impulses to CNS
78
second-order neurons
in the brain, collect information from first-order neurons and end in the contralateral thalamus
79
third-order neurons
complete route to the cerebrum
80
fasciculus gracilis and cuneatus
touch, pressure, vibration, visceral pain, proprioception of limbs and chest (ascending tract)
81
lateral spinothalamic tract
pain, cold, warmth (ascending tract)
82
anterior (ventral) tract
tickle, itch, crude touch, pressure (ascending tract)
83
corticospinal tract
voluntary, precise, finely coordinated movements of the limbs and trunk (descending tract)
84
reticulospinal tract
automatic movements for tone, posture, and balance (descending tract)