Name ______________________ Date_____ / _____ / _________

SPINAL CORD AND REFLEXES

Spinal Cord Cross Section

Provide the labels for the

parts of the spinal cord
shown on the cross-section
diagram to the right
a. Motor neuron
b. Sensory neuron
c. Dorsal root ganglion
d. Nerve fibers
e. Interneuron
f. Synapse
g. Grey matter
h. White matter

Components of a Reflex Act

In the diagram to the left, provide

the labels for the structures
involved in the reflex act when a
person steps on a tack and jerks
their leg away.
a. Motor neuron
b. Sensory neuron
c. Stimulus
d. Spinal cord
e. Receptor (in skin)
f. Effector (muscle)
Provide the missing terms in the blanks below.

When a person steps on a tack they often jerk their leg away _____________ they are aware
of what happened. The impulse initially traveled from the ______________ in the skin up to a
(an) _____________ neuron into the _________. Then the impulse jumps across a(an)
___________ to a(an) ______________ and across to another synapse and on to a
______________ neuron which activates a(n) ______________ muscle in the leg. The leg jerks
away before the stimulus is registered, but a(n) ______________ continues to travel up the
______________ to the ___________ and pain is then registered. This is process is known as a(an)
_______________ because it occurs without conscious thinking.

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