Spinal Cord And Spinal Nerves

Front 1

conus medullaris

Back 1

cone-shaped terminus of the spinal cord

Front 2

filum terminale

Back 2

continuation of the pia mater past the conus medullaris that anchors the base of the spinal cord in the coccyx

Front 3

cauda equina

Back 3

spinal nerves branching off the conus medullaris

Front 4

dorsal (posterior) median sulcus and ventral (anterior) median fissure

Back 4

indentations along the anterior and posterior medial aspects of the spinal cord; divide the cord into left and right halves

Front 5

dura mater

Back 5

most external protective covering of the CNS

Front 6

epidural space

Back 6

fatty space surrounding the dura mater

Front 7

arachnoid mater

Back 7

clear, middle layer of the meninges; has lots of little fibers that run through subarachnoid space

Front 8

subarachnoid space

Back 8

space between arachnoid and pia maters; filled with CSF

Front 9

pia mater

Back 9

deepest layer of the meninges; functions like the casing on a sausage

Front 10

denticulate ligaments

Back 10

little lateral extensions of the pia mater connecting it to the dura mater that prevent the spinal cord from moving around within the meninges

Front 11

commissure

Back 11

crossbar of the H shape formed by the gray matter of the spinal cord

Front 12

central canal

Back 12

narrow central cavity of the spinal cord (within the commissure)

Front 13

ventral/anterior horns

Back 13

ventral parts of the gray matter of the spinal cord; contains the cell bodies of motor neurons of the spinal cord

Front 14

dorsal/posterior horns

Back 14

dorsal parts of gray matter of the spinal cord; contain the cell bodies of interneurons that receive signals from sensory neurons whose cell bodies are in the dorsal root ganglia

Front 15

lateral horns

Back 15

lateral part of gray matter of the spinal cord, present in thoracic and superior lumbar regions only; contains the cell bodies of preganglionic sympathetic nervous system cells

Front 16

ascending white matter

Back 16

axons in the spinal cord carrying information to the brain

Front 17

descending white matter

Back 17

axons in the spinal cord carrying information form the brain

Front 18

commissural white matter

Back 18

axons in the spinal cord that carry information from one side of the spinal cord to the other

Front 19

spinal cord segment

Back 19

the region of spinal cord from which a given spinal nerve emerges

Front 20

dorsal root

Back 20

connection from spinal nerve to dorsal horn of spinal cord that carries sensory information only

Front 21

ventral root

Back 21

connection from spinal nerve to ventral horn of spinal cord that carries motor information only

Front 22

dorsal root ganglia

Back 22

location for the cell bodies of PNS sensory cells; develop from neural crest cells

Front 23

dorsal rami

Back 23

dorsal branches of spinal nerves that innervate the muscles and skin of the back

Front 24

ventral rami

Back 24

ventral branches of spinal nerves that innervate everything except the back

Front 25

dermatome

Back 25

an area of skin supplied by a single spinal nerve

Front 26

rootlets

Back 26

come off the spinal cord and combine to form the roots of a spinal nerve

Front 27

neuroblasts

Back 27

proliferating neuroepithelial cells from the neural tube

Front 28

basal plate

Back 28

ventral neuroblasts that will become ventral motor neurons of the spinal cord (also some interneurons)

Front 29

alar plate

Back 29

dorsal neuroblasts that will become dorsal interneurons of the spinal cord