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66 Cards in this Set

  • Front
  • Back
Central Nervous System (CNS)
The portion of the nervous system within the skull and spine
Peripheral Nervous System (PNS)
The portion of the nervous system outside the skull and spine
Somatic Nervous System (SNS)
The part of the peripheral nervous system that interacts with the external environment
Afferent Nerves
Nerves that carry sensory signals to the central nervous system; sensory nerves
Efferent Nerves
Nerves that carry motor signals from the central nervous system to the skeletal muscles or internal organs
Autonomic Nervous System (ANS)
The part of the peripheral nervous system that participates in the regulation of the body's internal environment
Sympathetic Nerves
Those motor nerves of the autonomic nervous system that project from the CNS in the lumbar and thoracic areas of the spinal cord
Parasympathetic nerves
Those motor nerves of the autonomic nervous system that project from the brain (as components of cranial nerves) or from the sacral region of the spinal cord.
Cranial Nerves
The 12 pairs of nerves extending from the brain (e.g., the optic nerves, the olfactory nerves, and the vagus nerves)
Meninges
The three protective membranes that cover the brain and spinal cord
Dura Mater
The tough outer meninx
Arachnoid Membrane
The meninx that is located between the dura mater and the pia mater and has the appearance of a gauzelike spiderweb
Subarachnoid Space
The space beneath the arachnoid membrane, which contains many large blood vessels and cerebrospinal fluid
Pia Mater
The delicate, innermost meninx
Cerebrospinal Fluid
The colorless fluid that fills the subarachnoid space, the central canal, and the cerebral ventricles
Central Canal
The small CSF-filled channel that runs the length of the spinal cord
Cerebral Ventricles
The four CSF-filled internal chambers of the brain: the two lateral ventricles, the third ventricle, and the fourth ventricle
Choroid Plexuses
The networks of capillaries that protrude into the ventricles from the pia mater and continuously produce cerebrospinal fluid
Blood-brain Barrier
The mechanism that keeps certain toxic substances in the blood from passing into brain tissue
Neuron
Cells of the nervous system that are specialized for the reception, conduction, and transmission of electrochemical signals.
Multipolar neuron
A neuron with more than two processes extending from its cell body
Unipolar neuron
A neuron with one process extending from its cell body
Bipolar Neuron
A neuron with two processes extending from its cell body
Interneurons
Neurons with short axons or no axons at all, whose function is to integrate neural activity within a single brain structure
Nuclei
The DNA-containing structures of cells; also, clusters of neuronal cell bodies in the central nervous system.
Ganglia
Clusters of neuronal cell bodies in the peripheral nervous system
Tracts
Bundles of axons in the central nervous system
Nerves
Bundles of axons in the peripheral nervous system
Glial Cells
Several classes of nonneural cells of the nervous system, whose important contributions to nervous system function are just starting to be understood
Oligodendrocytes
Glial cells that myelinate axons of the central nervous system; aka oligodendroglia
Myelin
A fatty insulating substance found in the extensions of glial cells
Myelin Sheaths
Coverings on the axons of some CNS neurons that are rich in myelin and increase the speed and efficiency of axonal conduction
Schwann Cells
The glial cells that compose the myelin sheaths of PNS axons and promote their regeneration
Microglia
Glial cells that respond to injury or disease by engulfing cellular debris and triggering inflammatory responses
Astrocytes
Large, star-shaped glial cells that play a role in the passage of chemicals from the blood into CNS neurons and perform several other important functions that are not yet well understood
Gogli Stain
A neural stain that completely darkens a few of the neurons in each slice of tissue, thereby revealing their silhouettes
Nissl Stain
A neural stain that has an affinity for structures in neuron cell bodies
Electron Microscopy
A neuroanatomical technique used to study the fine details of cellular structure
Anterior
Toward the nose end of the vertebrate
Posterior
Toward the tail end of a vertebrate or toward the back of the head
Dorsal
Toward the surface of the back of a vertebrate or toward the top of the head
Ventral
Toward the chest surface of a vertebrate or toward the bottome of the head
Medial
Toward the midline of the body of a vertebrate
Lateral
Away from the midline of the body of a vertebrate, toward the body's lateral surfacesLateral
Superior
Toward the top of the primate head
Inferior
Toward the bottom of the primate head or brain
Proximal
Nearer the central core of the body (e.g., the elbows are proximal to the wrists)
Distal
Farther from the central core of the body (e.g., the wrists are distal to the elbows)
Horizontal Sections
Type of retinal neurons whose specialized function is lateral communication
Frontal Sectios
Any slices of brain tissue cut in a plane that is parallel to the face; also termed coronal sections
Sagittal Sections
Any slices of brain tissue cut in a plane that is parallel to the side of the brain
Cross Section
Section cut at a right angle to any long, narrow structure of the CNS
Gray matter
Portions of the nervous system that are gray because they are composed largely of neural cell bodies and unmyelinated interneurons
White Matter
Portions of the nervous system that are white because they are composed largely of myelinated axons
Dorsal horns
The two dorsal arms of the spinal gray matter
Ventral horns
The two ventral arms of the spinal gray matter
Dorsal root ganglia
Structures just outside the spinal cord that are composed of the cell bodies of dorsal root axons
Bain Stem
The part of the brain on which the cerebral hemispheres rest; in general, it regulates reflex activities that are critical for survival (e.g., heart rate and respiration).
Sensory Relay Nuclei
Those nuclei of the thalamus whose main function is to relay sensory signals to the appropriate areas of cortex
Decussate
To cross over to the other side of the brain
Contralateral
Projecting from one side of the body to the other
Ipsilateral
On the same side of the body
Sulci
Small furrows in a convoluted cortex
Pyramidal Cells
Large multipolar cortical neurons with a pyramid shaped cell body, an apical dendrite, and a very long axon
Stellate Cells
Small star-shaped cortical interneurons
Columnar Organization
The functional organization of the neocortex in vertical columns; the cells in each column form a mini-circuit that performs a single function