Neuroanatomy

Question 1

What does anterior mean?

Answer 1

In front of; toward the face

Question 2

What does posterior mean?

Answer 2

Behind; toward the back

Question 3

What does superior mean?

Answer 3

Above; toward the head

Question 4

What does inferior mean?

Answer 4

Below; toward the feet

Question 5

What does medial mean?

Answer 5

Toward the middle

Question 6

What does lateral mean?

Answer 6

Toward the edge

Question 7

What does dorsal mean?

in terms of the brain as well as the spinal cord

Answer 7

Toward the top of the brain
OR
the back of the spinal cord

Question 8

What does ventral mean?

in terms of the brain as well as the spinal cord

Answer 8

Toward the bottom of the brain
OR
the front of the spinal cord

Question 9

What does rostral mean?

in terms of the brain as well as the spinal cord

Answer 9

Toward the front of the brain
OR
the top of the spinal cord

Question 10

What does caudal mean?

in terms of the brain as well as the spinal cord

Answer 10

Toward the back of the brain
OR
the bottom of the spinal cord

Question 11

what is the coronal plane?

Answer 11

a verticle plane that runs parallel to the eyes or ears

Question 12

what is the sagittal plane?

Answer 12

a vertical plane in the rostral-caudal direction, it divides objects into right and left regions

Question 13

what is the horizontal plane?

Answer 13

divides objects into top and bottom regions

Question 14

what are the five brain divisions?

(ending in -phalon)

Answer 14

Telencephalon
Diencephalon
Mesencephalon
Metencephalon
Mylencephalon

Question 15

If the brain can be divided into three gross structures, what are they?

Answer 15

• Cerebrum
• Brain stem
• Cerebellum

Question 16

what is the corpus callosum?

Answer 16

a C shaped structure of white matter and nerve pathways in the centre of the cerebrum via white the hemispheres communicate

Question 17

what does the brainstem comprise?

Answer 17

• Midbrain (mesencephalon)
• Pons
• Medulla

Question 18

what are the three parts of the meninges?

Answer 18

• Dura Mater (outer)
• Arachnoid
• Pia Mater (inner)

Question 19

Describe the Dura mater

Answer 19

Thick and tough. It includes two layers: The periosteal layer of the dura mater lines the inner dome of the skull (cranium) and the meningeal layer is below that. Spaces between the layers allow for the passage of veins and arteries that supply blood flow to the brain.

Question 20

Describe the Arachnoid mater

Answer 20

a thin, weblike layer of connective tissue that does not contain nerves or blood vessels. Below the arachnoid mater is the cerebrospinal fluid, or CSF. This fluid cushions the entire central nervous system (brain and spinal cord) and continually circulates around these structures to remove impurities.

Question 21

Describe the Pia mater

Answer 21

a thin membrane that hugs the surface of the brain and follows its contours. The pia mater is rich with veins and arteries.

Question 22

breifly describe the cerebrum

Answer 22

The cerebrum (front of brain) comprises gray matter (the cerebral cortex) and white matter at its center. The largest part of the brain, the cerebrum initiates and coordinates movement and regulates temperature. Other areas of the cerebrum enable speech, judgment, thinking and reasoning, problem-solving, emotions and learning. Other functions relate to vision, hearing, touch and other senses.

Question 23

what volume of the brain is made of subcortical brain structures?
what nuclei does it include?

Answer 23

Subcortical brain structures comprise roughly ** 25%** of human total brain volume and consist of a heterogeneous group of grey matter nuclei, including the thalamus, basal ganglia, hippocampus, amygdala, and nucleus accumbens

Question 24

where is the diencephalon?
what structures does it consist of?

Answer 24

The diencephalon is the area of the brain between the telencephalon and brainstem.
It consists of the thalamus, subthalamus, hypothalamus, and epithalamus.

Question 25

how many ventricles are there?

Answer 25

total 4; 2 lateral and 3rd and 4th ventricle

continuous with each other- filled with csf

Question 26

why can ventricle size be indicative of atrophy?

Answer 26

entricles expand to take up space if there is any atrophy in the brain – so they can be indicative of this

Question 27

the thalamus receives sensory information through the … and then sends it to the …

Answer 27

the thalamus receives sensory information through the spinal cord and then sends it to the primary somatorsensory cortex

Question 28

how does the cortex regulate signals in the thalamus

Answer 28

cortex sends descending pathways to striatum to regulate the signals in the thalamus

also thalamus forms part of a circuit ‘loop’ with the striatum that is important in controlling input to the cortex

Question 29

what structure in involved in extrapyramidal motor control?

Answer 29

basal ganglia

Question 30

what structures make up the striatum?

Answer 30

caudate nucleus and putamen

Question 31

what is the reticular formation?

Answer 31

a set of interconnected nuclei that are located throughout the brainstem.
The reticular formation includes ascending pathways to the cortex in the ascending reticular activating system (ARAS) and descending pathways to the spinal cord via the reticulospinal tracts