Physiology Flashcards
(244 cards)
What is the principal functional unit of the nervous system?
Neurons
How many neurone does the human system have?
10 to the (11-12) neurons
Which non-neuronal cell forms the blood brain barrier and also produces neutrophins?
Astroglia cells
What is the purpose of oligodendrogliocytes?
To produce myelin sheaths
Which cells in the non - neuronal cell is phagocytic in nature?
Microglial cells
What is the purpose of ependymal cells?
- They line the fluid- filled ventricles of the brain in the choriod plexus where the help to produce cerebral spinal fluid.
- They help to direct cell migration during development of the brain.
Which cells contains a glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) that is used as a marker in brain cancers such as astrocytoma or glioblastoma?
Astrocytes
Functions of Astrocytes? ( most abundant)
- Help in recycling neurotransmitters(glutamate, GABA and serotonin)
- They buffer the extracellular potassium concentration .
- Respond to injury (gliosis)
- Help to make up the BBB
Damage to which cells causes multiple sclerosis(MS) or leukodystrophies?
Oligodendrogliocytes
Which glial cell is responsible for myelination in the PNS ?
Schwann cells ( One Schwann cell myelinate one neuron)
Abbreviation COPS
Cns- Oligodendrogliocytes Pns- Schwann cells
What is anterograde transport?
Movement of proteins from soma to terminal ends ( A=ST)
What is retrograde transport?
Movement of proteins from terminal ends to soma (R= TS)
Describe a grade 1 nerve injury
Applied pressure ( resting head on hand)
can result in hypoxia
LEAST HARMFUL ( regeneration starts quickly)
What grade is the most severe type of nerve injury?
Grade 5 ( Completer severance of the nerve)
What are the changes that occur in the nerve cell body at a grade 5 nerve injury?
1.Chromatolysis occurs within 24 hrs ( last about 15-20 days)
2.Neurofibrils and Golgi apparatus starts to disappear/disintegrate
3.Cell body swells assumes a spherical shape
4. Nucleus is the pushed to one side of neurone.
What is Wallerian degeneration?
Wallerian degeneration is an active process of retrograde degeneration of the distal end of an axon that is a result of a nerve lesion.
What are the changes that occur within the nerve fibre when it is damaged?
1.Myelin sheath breaks down
2. Macrophages appear
3.Schwann cells divide mitotically forming cords of cells lying within the endoneurial tubes
4.Macrophages from the endoneurium invade the degenerating myelin sheath and axis cylinder and remove debris. As debris is removed, Schwann cell cytoplasm fills the endoneurial tubes. The process takes - 3 months.
What are the processes that occur at the site of injury?
a. Schwann cells elongate and send processes outward to the injured site. This is known as Regenerative Sprouting.
b. Neurofibrils from the proximal end begin to grow and are guided by the Schwann cells into the old cylinder, in which they grow and eventually form the new axon.
c. Schwann cells then spin new myelin sheaths around the cylinder and gradually the entire neurone is regenerated.
What are functions of the sodium- potassium ATPases pumps?
- Pump 3 Na outside the cell and 2 K inside the cell.
- They generate a small negative charge inside the cell at rest.
- They generate concentration gradients for ions to move.
Which is the cell more permeable towards?
Potassium
Which direction does the chemical gradient of sodium moves?
Inwards
What is the value for a resting membrane potential for a nerve?
-70 mV
What is equilibrium potential?
Membrane potential at which the tendency to move against the electrical or concentration gradient is exactly balanced