Nervous System

Nerve Tissue:

Two Types of Cell

Neurons-conducting cells

- Is the basic unit of the nervous system

- Responsible for the electrical signals that communicate information about sensation, and that
produce movement in response to those stimuli, along with inducing through processes within
the brain

Parts Of Neurons

- Cell body- contains nucleus and most of the major organelles

- Axons- conduct nerve impulses away from cell bodies and wrapped in myelin sheath (produced
by Schwann cells)
- Dendrites- conduct impulses towards the cell

Neuroglia(glial cells)-supportive cells

CNS glia PNS glia Basic Function

Astrocyte Satellite Cell Support
- Support neurons
- Supply nutrients to
neurons and help
maintain their electrical
potential
- Forms part of the
blood-brain barrier,
which prevent harmful
molecules from
entering the brain
Oligodendrocyte Schwann cell Insulation, myelination
- Support
- Insulate axons in the
CNS
- Form protective myelin
sheath
Microglia - Immune surveillance and
- phagocytic cells that ingest phagocytosis
and digest microorganisms and
waste products from injured
neurons
- play a role in immune
surveillance
Ependymal cell’ - Creating csf
- line the four small cavities in
the brain called ventricles, and
 the choroid plexus
- help produce cerebrospinal
fluid (CSF)
Satellite Cells

- Found in sensory and autonomic ganglia

- Surround the cells bodies of neurons
- Provide support

Nervous System

Anatomic classification

- Central Nervous System

- Peripheral Nervous System

Functional Classification

- Sensory (Afferent)
- Motor (efferent)- somatic nervous system and autonomic nervous system

Central Nervous System

Brain

4 Major Regions

1. Cerebrum
- Basal nuclei- responsible fro cognitive processing ( planning movements)
- Basal forebrain- learning and memory
- Limbic cortex- emotion, memory and behavior

Cerebral Cortex (divided into four lobes

- Frontal lobe
- Parietal lobe
- Temporal lobe
- Occipital lobe

Functions of Cerebral cortex

Speech, memory,logical and emotion response, consciousness, interpretation of sensation,

voluntary movement

Homunculus(image)
2. Diancephalon
- Thalamus- relay station for sensory impulses
- Hypothalamus
 Autonomic center- regulate body temperature, water balance, metabolism
 Limbic system- thirst, appetite, sex, pain and pleasure center
 Stimulates pituitary gland (endocrine)
 Mammillary bodies – reflex center involve in olfaction (sense of smell)
3. Brain stem
- Midbrain
 Cerebral penduncle-convey ascending and descending impulses
 Corpora quadrigemina-reflex centers involved with vision and hearing
- Pons
- Medulla oblongata
 Area where the important pyramidal tracts (motor fibers) cross over the opposite side
 Contains many nuclei that regulate vital visceral activities
 Contain centers that control heart, blood pressure, breathing, swallowing and vomiting
4. Cerebellum
- Provides the precise timing for skeletal muscles activity
- Controls balance
- Body movements are smooth and coordinated

(Brain CNS image)

 Spinal cord

- Provides a two ways conduction pathway to and from the brain

- Major reflex center
- Approximately 17 inches (42cm)
- Extends from the foramen magnum of the skull to the first and second vertebra
- 31 pairs of spinal nerve arise from the cord

Gray matter

 Posterior (dorsal) horns- sensory neurons

 Lateral horns- sympathetic division of the autonomic nervous system
 Anterior (ventral) horns- motor neurons

White Matter

- Composed of myelinated fiber tracts

 Posterior (dorsal) columns- ascending tracts that carry sensory input to the brain
 Lateral columns- both ascending and descending motor tracts
 Anterior (ventral) columns- both ascending and descending motor tracts

Blood Supply to the Brain

Aorta-common carotid artery-internal carotid artery

Vertebral artery-basilar artery

Circle of Wills

 Left and right internal carotid arteries and branches of the basilar artery
 Confluence of arteries that can maintain perfusion of the brain even if narrowing or a blockage limits
flow through one part
( Venous Return image)

Protective covering

- Dura mater
- Arachnoid mater
- Pia mater

(CSF Circulation image)

Peripheral Nervous System

Nerve

 A bundle of neuron fibers outside the CNS

 Endoneurium, Perineurium, Epineurium
 Classification – Sensory (afferent) nerves and Motor (efferent) nerves

Ganglia

 Groups of neuronal cell bodies found outside the CNS

( Cranial Nerves image)

Spinal Nerves

- 31 pairs
- Contain both motor and sensory fibers
- Damage to a spinal nerve or either of its rami results both in loss of sensation and in flaccid
paralysis of the area of the body served

(Spinal Nerve Plexuses image)

Autonomic Nervous System

- Is the motor subdivision of the PNS that controls the body activities automatically
- Composed pf a specialized group of neurons that regulate cardiac muscle (heart), smooth
muscled (found in the walls of the visceral organs and blood vessels), and glands
- Also called the involuntary nervous system

Comparison of the somatic and autonomic nervous sysrems

Differences

1. Effector organ
2. Neurotransmitter
3. Patterns of their motor pathways

Parasympathetic

- Located in the brain nuclei of several cranial nerves ( III, VII, IX, X), VAGUS being the most
important, and sacral region ( splanchnic/pelvic nerves)

Sympathetic

- Thoracolumbar division
- Its preganglionic neurons are in the gray matter of the spinal cord from T1 through L2
(Table 7.4)