Peripheral Nervous System Flashcards
What nerves are the 2 types of nerves?
- Spinal nerves.
- Cranial nerves.
What are spinal nerves?
- Contain motor, sensory and autonomic neurons.
- Formed by the merging of nerve fibres from its dorsal and ventral roots.
- They exit the vertebral canal through the intervertebral foramina to form peripheral nerves.
How many spinal nerves are there?
31 pairs.
What are cranial nerves?
They can supply sensory or motor neurons or have a mixed supply.
How many cranial nerves are there?
12 pairs.
What do the cranial nerves supply within the somatic nervous system?
- Voluntary motor control.
- Sensation of the head + face.
What do the spinal nerves supply in the somatic nervous system?
Supply the trunk + limbs.
What is the autonomic nervous system?
- Regulates involuntary physiological processes without conscious control.
- Uses chemical messengers + signals to maintain homeostasis.
What structures does the autonomic nervous system target?
- Cardiac muscle.
- Smooth muscle.
- Exocrine + endocrine glands.
What are some functions the autonomic nervous system regulates?
- Blood pressure.
- Urination.
- Bowel movements.
- Thermoregulation.
What are the 2 divisions of the autonomic nervous system?
- Sympathetic nervous system.
- Parasympathetic nervous system.
Draw a diagram demonstrating the divisions of the PNS.
Check.
What is the sensory (afferent) division?
- Consists of somatic nerve fibres.
- Conducts information from receptors to the CNS.
What is the motor (efferent) division?
- Consists of motor nerve fibres.
- Conducts impulses from the CNS to effectors.
What is the somatic nervous system?
- Regulates voluntary controlled functions.
- Conducts impulses from the CNS to skeletal muscle.
