Language Of Medicine: Chapter 10: Nervous System: Vocabulary

Front 1

acetylcholine

Back 1

neurotransmitter chemical released at the ends of the nerve cells

Front 2

afferent nerve

Back 2

carry messages toward the brain and spinal cord

Front 3

arachnoid membrane

Back 3

middle layer of the three membranes that surround the brain and spinal cord

Front 4

astrocyte

Back 4

a type of glial cell that transports water and salts from the capillaries

Front 5

autonomic nervous system

Back 5

nerves that control involuntary body functions of muscles, glands, and internal organs

Front 6

axon

Back 6

microscopic fiber that carries the nervous impulse along a nerve cell

Front 7

blood-brain barrier

Back 7

protective separation between the blood and brain cells. This makes it difficult for substances to penetrate capillary walls and enter the brain

Front 8

brainstem

Back 8

posterior portion of the brain that connects the cerebrum with the spinal cord

Front 9

cauda equina

Back 9

collection of spinal nerves below the end of the spinal cord

Front 10

central nervous system

Back 10

the brain and the spinal cord

Front 11

cerebellum

Back 11

posterior part of the brain that coordinates muscle movements and maintains balance

Front 12

cell body

Back 12

part of a nerve cell that contains the nucleus

Front 13

cerebral cortex

Back 13

outer region of the cerebrum; containing sheets of nerve cells; gray matter of the brain

Front 14

cerebrospinal fluid

Back 14

circulates throughout the brain and spinal cord

Front 15

cerebrum

Back 15

largest part of the brain; responsible for voluntary muscular activity, vision, speech, taste, hearing, thought, and memory

Front 16

cranial nerves

Back 16

twelve pairs of nerves that carry messages to and from the brain with regard to the head and neck

Front 17

dendrite

Back 17

microscopic branching fiber of a nerve cell that is the first part to receive the nervous impulse

Front 18

dura mater

Back 18

thick, outermost layer of the meninges surrounding and protecting the brain and spinal cord

Front 19

ependymal cell

Back 19

glial cell that lines membranes within the brain and spinal cord and helps form cerebrospinal fluid

Front 20

efferent nerves

Back 20

carry messages away from the brain and spinal cord; motor nerves

Front 21

ganglion/ganglia

Back 21

collection of nerve cell bodies in the peripheral nervous system

Front 22

glial cell/neuroglial cell

Back 22

cell in the nervous system that is supportive and connective in function

Front 23

gyrus

Back 23

sheet of nerve cells that produces a rounded fold on the surface of the cerebellum

Front 24

hypothalamus

Back 24

portion of the brain below the thalamus; controls sleep, appetite, body temperature, and secretions from the pituitary gland

Front 25

medulla oblongota

Back 25

part of the brain just above the spinal cord; controls breathing, heart, and the size of blood vessels: nerve fibers crossover here

Front 26

meninges

Back 26

three protective membranes that protect the brain and spinal cord

Front 27

microglial cell

Back 27

phagocytic glial cell that removes waste products from the central nervous system

Front 28

motor nerve

Back 28

carry messages away from the brain and spinal cord to the muscles and organs

Front 29

myelin sheath

Back 29

white fatty tissue that surrounds and insulates the axon of a nerve cell

Front 30

nerve

Back 30

macroscopic cord-like collection of fibers that carry impulses

Front 31

neuron

Back 31

nerve cell that carries impulses throughout the body; parenchyma of the nervous system

Front 32

neurotransmitter

Back 32

chemical messenger, released at the end of a nerve cell; stimulates another cell, which can be a nerve cell

Front 33

oligodendroglial cell

Back 33

clial cell that forms the myelin sheath covering axons

Front 34

parasympathetic nerves

Back 34

involuntary, autonomic nerves that regulate normal body functions such as heart rate, breathing, and muscles of the gastrointestinal tract.

Front 35

parenchyma

Back 35

essential, distinguishing tissue of any organ or system

Front 36

peripheral nervous system

Back 36

nerves outside the brain and spinal cord

Front 37

pia mater

Back 37

thin, delicate inner membrane of the meninges

Front 38

plexus

Back 38

large interlacing network of nerves

Front 39

pons

Back 39

part of the brain anterior to the cerebellum and between the medulla and the rest of the midbrain

Front 40

receptor

Back 40

organ that receives a nervous stimulus and passes it on to afferent nerves

Front 41

sciatic nerve

Back 41

nerve extending from the base of the spine down the thigh, lower leg, and foot

Front 42

sensory nerve

Back 42

carries messages toward the brain and spinal cord from a receptor

Front 43

spinal nerves

Back 43

thirty-one pairs of nerves arising from the spinal cord

Front 44

stimulus

Back 44

agent of change in the internal or external environment that evokes a response

Front 45

stroma

Back 45

connective and supporting tissue of an organ

Front 46

sulcus

Back 46

depression or groove in the surface of the cerebral cortex

Front 47

sympathetic nerve

Back 47

autonomic nerves that influence bodily functions involuntarily in times of stress

Front 48

synapse

Back 48

space through which a nervous impulse travels between nerve cells or between nerve and muscle or glandular cells

Front 49

thalamus

Back 49

main relay center of the brain; conducts impulses between the spinal cord and the cerebrum

Front 50

vagus nerve

Back 50

tenth cranial nerve; its branches reach to the larynx, trachea, bronchi, lungs, aorta, esophagus, and stomach

Front 51

ventricles of the brain

Back 51

canals in the brain that contain cerebrospinal fluid