Spinal Nerve

Wednesday, October 19, 2022 9:08 PM

Spinal Nerves
○ Arise along the spinal cord from the union of the dorsal roots and ventral roots
○ All spinal nerves contain mixed nerves:
▪ Both sensory and somatic motor neurons
▪ Some contains parasympathetic or sympathetic axons
○ Adjacent vertebrae:
▪ Where most of the spinal nerves exit the vertebral column between
○ Categorization by region of the vertebral column from which they emerge:
a. Cervical: C
b. Thoracic: T
c. Lumbar: L
d. Sacral: S
e. Coccygeal: Co
○ Categorization according to their order within that region:
a. C1 - C8: 31 pairs of spinal nerves
b. T1 - T12
c. L1 - L5
d. S1 - S5
e. Co
○ Categorization according to organization into three major plexuses:
○ Dermatome: the area of skin supplied with sensory innervation by a pair of
spinal nerves
○ Each spinal nerves except C1 has a specific cutaneous sensory distribution

Stretch reflex:
○ Simplest reflex
○ Muscles contract in response to a stretching force applied to them
○ Knee-jerk reflex:
§ Patellar reflex
§ Example of the stretch reflex
§ Determine if the higher CNS centers that normally influence this
reflex are functional
§ Importance: maintaining posture and in coordinating muscular
activity
○ Withdrawal reflex:
○ Flexor reflex
○ Function: to remove a limb or another body part from a painful stimulus