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88 Cards in this Set
- Front
- Back
-Monitor changes occurring inside and outside of the body -Processes and interprets sensory input and decides what should be done -Effects/causes a response by activating muscles/glands via motor output |
What are the functions of the nervous system? |
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-supporting cells -neurons |
Principle cell types in nervous tissue |
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supporting cells |
"nerve glue", general support, insulate, protect delicate neurons |
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neurons |
"nerve cells", transmit messages from one part of body to another |
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axon |
generate nerve impulses and usually conducts AWAY from cell body |
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dendrite |
neuron process that conveys incoming messages TOWARD cell body |
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myelin sheath |
tight coil of wrapped membranes encloses axon |
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ganglia |
small collections of cell bodies |
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tracts |
bundles of nerve fibers running through CNS |
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nerves |
bundles of nerve fibers running through PNS |
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white matter |
consists of dense collections of myelinated fibers (tracts) |
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gray matter |
contain mostly unmyelinated fibers and cell bodies |
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sensory neurons |
(afferent) neurons carrying impulses from sensory receptors to the CNS |
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motor neurons |
(efferent) neurons carrying impulses from CNS to viscera and/or muscles/glands |
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interneurons |
(association) connect motor and sensory neurons in neural pathways (cell bodies are always located in CNS) |
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polarized neuron |
Fewer positive ions sitting on inner face of neuron's plasma membrane than on the outer face |
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K+ (postassium) |
major positive ion inside a neuron |
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Na+ (sodium) |
positive ion outside a neuron |
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afferent |
to go forward |
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What factors can impair the conduction of nerve impulses? |
sedatives, cold, anesthetics, continuous pressure |
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action potential |
local depolarization activates neurons to initiate and transmit long distance signal |
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reflex |
rapid, predictable, involuntary responses to stimuli |
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basic components of a reflex arc |
-sensory (stretch) receptor/reacts to stimulus -sensory (afferent) neuron -interneuron -motor (efferent) neuron -effector organ/muscle/gland eventually stimulated |
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somatic reflexes |
all reflexes that stimulate skeletal muscles |
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autonomic reflexes |
regulate activity of smooth muscles, heart and glands |
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What is the most common reflex testing site for an adult? |
patellar reflex |
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Why is the _______ reflex the most common reflex testing site in adults? |
patellar simple two neuron reflex = less time to react, tests general health of motor portion of our nervous system |
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What are the functions of the cerebrum? |
-speech -memory -logical and emotional response -consciousness -interpretation of sensation -voluntary movement |
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thalamus |
encloses shallow third ventricle of brain, relay station for sensory impulses passing upward to sensory cortex, crude recognition of pleasant or unpleasant |
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hypothalamus |
makes up floor of diencephalon, autonomic nervous system center because plays role in regulation of body temperature/water balance/metabolism, center for many drives and emotions *hypo-under/less |
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epithalamus |
roof of third ventricle, pineal gland and choroid important |
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function of the cerebellum |
provides precise timing for skeletal muscle activity and controls our balance and equilibrium |
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RAS |
reticular formation |
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reticular formation |
gray matter extending entire length of brain, involved in motor control of visceral organs |
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limbic system |
"emotional visceral brain" |
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meninges |
three layered membrane that protects the brain and spinal cord |
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three layers of the meninges |
-duramatter -periosteal -meningeal |
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meningitis |
inflammation of the meninges, serious threat because it could spread into nervous tissue of CNS |
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How is meningitis diagnosed? |
cerebro spinal fluid sample from subarachnoid space |
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What is the normal volume of CSF? |
forms a watery cushion that protects the fragile nervous tissue from blows and other trauma |
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What is the normal volume of CSF? |
150ml (1/2C) |
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CSF |
cerebrospinal fluid |
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What is the blood/brain barrier and why is it important? |
composed of least permeable capillaries, separates neurons from blood bourn pathogens |
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What is a cerebrovascular accident? |
Third leading cause of death in U.S., blood circulation to brain area is blocked |
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What is another name for a cerebrovascular accident? |
stroke |
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What is the overall function of the spinal cord? |
provides a two way conduction pathway to and from brain, major reflex center |
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Why are epidurals given below the third lumbar vertebrae? |
less likely (no possibility?) of damaging spinal cord past L3 |
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Which "roots" join to form the spinal nerves? |
-dorsal -ventral |
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Which root contains the sensory neurons? |
dorsal root |
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Which root contains the motor neurons? |
ventral horns |
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What is a nerve? |
Bundle of neuron fibers found outside of the CNS |
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How many cranial nerves are there? |
12 pairs |
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How many pairs of spinal nerves arise from the spinal cord? |
31 pairs |
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autonomic nervous system |
motor subdivision of the PNS that controls body activity automatically |
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somatic nervous system |
PNS subdivision that controls skeletal muscles |
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sensory adaptation |
constant exposure to a stimulus ends up dulling the response to it |
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What are the two arms of the autonomic nervous system? |
-sympathetic -parasympathetic |
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sympathetic |
mobilizes the body during extreme situations ex: fear, exercise, rage |
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parasympathetic |
responsible for stimulation of "rest and digest" and "feed and breed" activities |
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cerebral palsy |
neuromuscular disability in which voluntary muscles are poorly controlled and spastic because of brain damage |
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anencephaly |
failure of cerebrum to develop resulting in a child who can not hear, see or process sensory inputs |
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spina bifida |
results when the vertebrae form incompletely |
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hydrocephaly |
"water of the brain" newborn baby - head to enlarge as brain increases in size because bones not fused adult - bones hard, soft nervous tissue damage treated by a shunt |
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Restless Leg Syndrome |
26% of pregnant women affected by third trimester, around 10-20 minutes after woman goes to bed, cause unknown, treatment of anemia can help |
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Bell's Palsy |
acute unilateral neuropathy of seventh cranial nerve leading to facial paralysis with weakness of forehead and lower face, three times more frequent in pregnancy, usually full recovery with no treatment within third trimester or two weeks postpartum |
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Transient Carpal Tunnel Syndrome |
more prominent in dominant hand, entrapment and compression of medial nerve at wrist, during pregnancy because of higher fluid retention, may recur with later pregnancies, rarely treated with surgery, usually resolves around three months postpartum |
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Meralgia Paresthetica |
unibilateral entrapment and compression of lateral femoral cutaneous nerve as it passes beneath inguinal ligament, associated with obesity or rapid weight gain, related to trauma and stretch injury, lumbar lordosis in pregnancy may make women more vulnerable to compression, develops in the third trimester, resolves spontaneously during the first three months postpartum |
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Postpartum Foot Drop |
now rare, complication of vaginal delivery, causes significant disability, after spontaneous delivery patient develops an L5 neuropathy, caused by trauma to lumbosacral nerve roots, most cases resolve in two to six months |
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Which nerves transmit the pain of labor? |
-sympathetic -parasympathetic |
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What is the perception of pain influenced by? |
emotions, catastrophicing, distraction, fear of pain, expectations |
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Gate Control Theory |
method for modulating pain at spinal cord level, mechanism that prevents transfer of nerve stimuli to higher centers of brain where they are perceived to become conscious as a feeling of pain at dorsal horn root in substantia gelatinosa of spinal cord, "open" pain gets in, "closed" pain blocked, not conscious |
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endorphins |
opioid like substance, mechanism for modulating pain |
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Phases of Neurodevelopment |
-neuronal proliferation -migration -organization -myelinization |
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How is the eye lubricated? |
oily secretion produced by the tarsal glands |
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What is the function of the lens? |
focuses light that enters the eye |
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What is the function of the iris? |
smooth muscle structure, regulates amount of light entering |
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What is the function of the pupil? |
light passes through part of iris |
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What is the function of the retina? |
innermost sensory layer of eye, absorb light and prevents light from scattering |
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"blind spot" |
optic disc, where optic nerve leaves the eyeball, object disappears from view |
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cataracts |
product of aging, the perfectly transparent jelly becomes harder and opaque cause vision to become hazy and distorted can cause blindness in the eye |
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color blindness |
lack of all three cone types, can have varied levels depending on which are missing |
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accommodation of the eye |
ability of the eye to focus specifically for close objects (less than twenty feet) |
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binocular vision |
"two-eyed vision", provides for depth perception, also called "three-dimensional" vision, as visual cortex fuses two slightly different images delivered by two eyes |
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strabismus |
"crossed eyes", unequal pulls by external eye muscles that prevent baby from coordinating movement of two eyes, if corrected early the brain may stop recognizing signals from the deviating eye causing the eye to be functionally blind |
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sensorineural deafness |
caused by a maternal rubella infection early in pregnancy |
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functions of the ear |
-hearing -equilibrium |
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Otitis Media |
inflammation of the middle ear |
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Why is Otitis Media more common in children? |
pharyngotympanic tubes run more horizontally |