NEURO ANATOMY &

PHYSIOLOGY
Agatha Terencia
• SS :
– SSP
• BRAIN
• MEDSPIN
– SST
• CRANIAL NERVE
• SPINAL NERVE

• Sensorik  SSP  Motorik

– Somatik
– Otonom
• Parasimpatik
• Simpatik
SCALP
 MENINGES
• membranous coverings
of the brain and spinal
cord. There are three
layers of meninges,
known as the dura
mater, arachnoid mater
and pia mater.
• The meninges are often
involved cerebral
pathology, as a common
site of infection
(meningitis), and
intracranial bleeds.
• DURAMATER
– thick, tough and inextensible.
– 2 layers :
• Periosteal layer – lines the inner surface of the bones of the
cranium.
• Meningeal layer – deep to the periosteal layer inside the
cranial cavity. It is the only layer present in the vertebral
column.
– Between these two layers, the dural venous
sinuses are located, draining into the internal jugular
veins.
• ARACHNOID
– avascular, and does not
receive any innervation
– Underneath the arachnoid
is a space known as
the sub-arachnoid space.
It contains CSF which acts
to cushion the brain.
– Small projections of
arachnoid mater into the
dura (known as arachnoid
granulations) allow CSF to
re-enter the circulation via
the dural venous sinuses.
• PIAMATER
– tightly adhered to the surface of the brain and
spinal cord
– highly vascularized
 VENTRICULAR SYSTEM & CSF
REGULATION
• ventricular system is a set of communicating
cavities within the brain. These structures are
responsible for the production, transport and
removal of cerebrospinal fluid
• Function of CSF :
– Protection
– Buoyancy
– Chemical stability
• VENTRICLES :
– Lateral (right and left)
• Located within their respective hemispheres
• They have ‘horns’ which project into the frontal, occipital and temporal lobes
• lateral ventricles are connected to the third ventricle by the foramen of Monro.
– 3rd ventricle
• situated in between the right and the left thalamus
– 4th ventricle
• Receives CSF from the third ventricle via the cerebral aqueduct.
• From the 4th ventricle, the fluid drains into two places:
– Central spinal canal – bathes the spinal cord
– Subarachnoid cisterns – bathes the brain, between arachnoid mater and
pia mater. Here the CSF is reabsorbed back into the circulation.
• Production and
Reabsorption of CSF
– Produced by the choroid
plexus, located in the
lining of the ventricles.
– It consists of capillaries
and loose connective
tissue, surrounded by
cuboidal epithelial cells.
– Plasma is filtered from
the blood by the
epithelial cells to produce
CSF.
– Drainage of the CSF
occurs in the
subarachnoid cisterns (or
space).
– arachnoid granulations
allow the fluid to drain
into the dural venous
sinuses
 CEREBRUM
• It consists of two cerebral hemispheres (left and right), separated
by the falx cerebri of the duramater
• Internal structure
– Grey matter forms the surface of each cerebral hemisphere (known as
the cerebral cortex), and is associated with processing and cognition.
– White matter forms the bulk of the deeper parts of the brain. It
consists of glial cells and myelinated axons that connect the various
grey matter areas.
• External structure
– sulci (grooves or depressions) and gyri (ridges or elevations).
– longitudinal fissure – a major sulcus that runs in the median sagittal
plane (filled with falx cerebri)
– The two cerebral hemispheres are connected by a white matter
structure, called the corpus callosum
• The main sulci are:
– Central sulcus – groove separating the frontal and parietal lobes.
– Lateral sulcus – groove separating the frontal and parietal lobes from
the temporal lobe.
– Lunate sulcus – groove located in the occipital cortex.
• The main gyri are:
– Precentral gyrus – ridge directly anterior to central sulcus, location of
primary motor cortex.
– Postcentral gyrus – ridge directly posterior to central sulcus, location
of primary somatosensory cortex.
– Superior temporal gyrus – ridge located inferior to lateral sulcus,
responsible for the reception and processing of sound.
• Lobes :
– Frontal
• higher intellect, personality, mood, social conduct and language
(dominant hemisphere side only)
– Parietal
• language and calculation on the dominant hemisphere side, and
visuospatial functions (e.g. 2-point discrimination) on the non-
dominant hemisphere side.
– Temporal
• for memory and language – this includes hearing as it is the location
of the primary auditory cortex.
– Occipital
• primary visual cortex (V1) is located within the occipital lobe and
hence its cortical association area is responsible for vision.
• Vasculatures :
– Arteries :
• Anterior Cerebral Arteries – branches of internal carotid arteries, supplying
the anteromedial aspect of the cerebrum.
• Middle Cerebral Arteries – continuation of internal carotid arteries, supplying
most of the lateral portions of the cerebrum.
• Posterior Cerebral Arteries – branches of the basilar arteries, supplying both
the medial and lateral sides of the cerebrum posteriorly.
– Veins
• network of small cerebral veins. These vessels empty into the dural venous
sinuses – endothelial lined spaces between the outer and inner layers of dura
mater.
 CEREBELLUM
• inferior to the occipital and
temporal lobes, and within
the posterior cranial fossa. It
is separated from these
lobes by the tentorium
cerebelli, a tough layer of
dura mater.
• Anatomical lobes that are
divided by two fissures
(primary fissure and
posterolateral fissure)
– anterior lobe
– posterior lobe
– flocculonodular lobe.
• 3 zones :
– In the midline of the cerebellum is the vermis.
– Either side of the vermis is the intermediate zone.
– Lateral to the intermediate zone are the lateral
hemispheres.
• Vasculatures :
– Superior cerebellar artery (SCA)
– Anterior inferior cerebellar artery (AICA)
– Posterior inferior cerebellar artery (PICA)

• SCA & ACA = basilar artery

• PICA = vertebral artery
 BASAL GANGLIA
• are collection of cell bodies outside of the central
nervous system
• consists of a number of subcortical nuclei
• The grouping of these nuclei is related to function
rather than anatomy
• Function :
– feedback mechanism to the cerebral cortex, modulating
and refining cortical activation
• Active break
• Prevent unwanted movements
– Emotional responses
• Nucleus acumbens (ventral striatum)
• its components can be
divided into input nuclei,
output nuclei and intrinsic
nuclei. Input nuclei receive
information, which is then
relayed to intrinsic nuclei
for processing, and further
passed to output nuclei:
• Caudate nucleus
– characteristic ventricular C-shape
– collection of gray matter on the wall of the lateral
ventricles
– Separation between putamen and caudate nucleus =
internal capsule
• Lentifom nucleus (globus pallidus & putamen)
– putamen forms the lateral aspect of the lentiform nucleus
– On its concave inner surface lies the most exterior of the
globus pallidus
• Substantia nigra
– dark appearance due to the neuromelanin present in the
cells
• Subthalamic nucleus
– inferior to the thalamus, and right above the substantia
nigra.
• Vasculatures
– lenticulostriate artery
provides most of the
circulation to the
striatum and the
lenticular nucleus.
– medial striate artery
supplies anterior aspect
of the ganglia, (i.e. the
head of the caudate
nucleus and the
nucleus accumbens)
– posterior
communicating
arteries supplies
substania nigra and the
subthalamic nucleus
BRAIN STEM
 SPINAL CORD
• Divided into 4 main columns in
the grey matter
– The dorsal horn (posterior
horn) contains neurons that
receive somatosensory
information from the body,
which is then transmitted via
the ascending pathways, to the
brain.
– The ventral horn (anterior
horn) largely contains motor
neurons that exit the spinal
cord to innervate skeletal
muscle.
– The intermediate column and
lateral horn contains neurons
that innervate visceral and
pelvic organs
CRANIAL NERVE