neuro500 (class 1 spinal cord) Flashcards
(67 cards)
what protects spinal cord?
bony verterbral column
meninges
space w/ CSF
meninges – 3 covers
dura mater
arachnoid mater
pia mater
mater=mother
arachnoid=spider
dura=tough
pia=soft
spaces b/w meninges
epidural (outside dura mater)
subdural space
(b/w dura mater & arachnoid mater)
subarachnoid space
(b/w arachnoid and pia mater)
NO SPACE UNDER PIA MATER
dura mater
-superficial layer
-dense irregular connective tissue
arachnoid mater
-middle layer
-avascular
-delicate collagen fibers and some elastic fibers
pia mater
-innermost layer
-thin & transparent
-adheres to surface of spinal cord & brain
-lots of blood vessels to supply spinal cord
denticulate ligaments of PIA MATER
- extensions of pia mater that suspend the spinal cord in the middle
-protect against sudden displacement
spinal cord external anatomy
shape
length
Shape: oval (flattened anteriorly and posteriorly)
Length: medulla oblongata to L2
(in newborns it goes to L3 or L4)
two ENLARGEMENTS of spinal cord
cervical enlargement
-from C4 to T1
-nerves to and from the arms
(lumbar enlargement)
-from T9 to T12
-nerves to and from legs
Conus medullaris
-end of the spinal cord
-ends between L1 and L2
Filum terminale
-extension of pia mater that runs
from conus medullaris to coccyx
Cauda equina
-the spinal nerve roots at the end of
the spinal cord don’t exit the
vertebral column at the same level
that they exit the cord, they fan out
like a horse’s tail
Spinal tap (lumbar puncture)
local anasthetic given
long hollow needle used
inserted into subarachnoid space
—> withdraw CSF
(for Dx)
spinal cord internal anatomy
white matter
gray matter
white matter
bundles of myelinated axons
Grey matter
= dendrites and cell bodies of neurons
= unmyelinated axons
what forms spinal nerve?
anterior and posterior rootlets join to form anterior & posterior roots
roots join together to form spinal nn
spinal nerve = ANTERIOR & POSTERIOR RAMI
root ganglia –> where is it?
POSTERIOR NERVE ROOT
(DORSAL ROOT GANGLIA)
dorsal root ganglion
CELL BODIES OF SENSORY NEURONS
ganglion deifne
“This is a plural term for “ganglion.” Ganglia are groups of nerves or brain cells that are closely related.”
“They might share connections and jobs or work together as part of a bigger subsystem of your nervous system.”
GRAY MATTER “butterfly” shape
ANTERIOR GRAY HORNS
POSTEIROR GRAY HORNS
LATERAL GRAY HORNS
posterior gray horns
-incoming sensory axons
-cell bodies of interneurons
Anterior gray horns
-somatic motor cell bodies
Lateral Grey Horns
-only in thoracic spine and upper
lumbar spine
-autonomic motor cell bodies