General Anatomy 2 | Vener’s Note
M1: NERVOUS SYSTEM
• Subarachnoid space – between
Nervous system organizational structure arachnoid and pia mater, contains
Cerebrospinal fluid.
Functional subdivisions of the CNS
1. Somatic part - innervates structures (skin and most
skeletal muscle).
⎯ receiving and responding to information from the
external environment.
Somatic part of the nervous system
⎯ Somatic sensory neurons/ somatic sensory
afferents or general somatic afferents (GSAs) -
carry information from the periphery into the CNS.
⎯ Somatic motor fibers/ somatic motor efferent or
general somatic efferent (GSEs) - carry information
away from the CNS to skeletal muscles.
⎯ Proprioception - is the sense of determining the
position and movement.
⎯ Somites- give rise to the cells that form the vertebrae
Central nervous system: BRAIN and ribs.
Parts of the brain: - Dermatomyotome - gives rise to skeletal muscle and
1. Cerebral Hemisphere/Cerebrum – function in motor the dermis of the skin.
planning, the timing of the onset of movements, and • Cells that migrate anteriorly give rise to
their coordination muscles of the limbs and trunk (hypaxial
Consists of: muscles).
⎯ Gray matter – outer portion, cell bodies • Cells that migrate posteriorly give rise to
⎯ White matter – made up of axons forming tracts or the intrinsic muscles of the back (epaxial
pathways muscles).
⎯ Ventricles – spaces filled with Cerebrospinal fluid ⎯ Neural crest cells - cells derived from neural folds
2. Cerebellum – located behind the dorsal aspect of the during formation of the neural tube
pons and the medulla ⎯ Motor Neurons - neurons that develop from cells
Has two lobes: within the spinal cord
⎯ Anterior lobe – above the primary fissure ⎯ Sensory Neurons - that develop from neural crest
⎯ Posterior lobe – below the primary fissure cells
Has a midline portion: ⎯ Sensory Ganglia - clusters of sensory nerve cell
⎯ Middle cerebellar peduncle – contains afferents bodies derived from neural crest cells and located
from the pontine nuclei outside the CNS.
3. Brainstem – connects the cerebrum with the spinal Remember:
cord ⎯ All sensory information passes into the posterior
Classified into three sections: aspect of the spinal cord
⎯ Midbrain – eye movement (top part) ⎯ All motor fibers leave anteriorly of the spinal cord.
⎯ Pons – facial movements, hearing and balance
(middle portion) Dermatome - is that area of skin supplied by a single spinal
⎯ Medulla Oblongata – regulate breathing, heart cord level, or on one side, by a single spinal nerve.
rhythms, blood pressure & swallowing (bottom part) Myotomes - is a portion of a skeletal muscle innervated by a
single spinal cord level or, on one side, by a single spinal
Central nervous system: SPINAL CORD nerve.
Location: superior two thirds of the vertebral canal. Visceral part of the nervous system
⎯ It is roughly cylindrical in shape, and is circular to oval 2. Visceral part - innervates organ systems in the body
in cross section with a central canal. and other visceral elements.
Central nervous system: MENINGES ⎯ detecting and responding to information from the
Three connective tissues: internal environment.
⎯ Dura mater - is the thickest and most external of the Autonomic division of the PNS
coverings. A. Sympathetic part
⎯ Arachnoid mater - is against the internal surface of B. Parasympathetic part
the dura mater.
⎯ Pia mater - is adherent to the brain and spinal cord.
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General Anatomy 2 | Vener’s Note
M1: NERVOUS SYSTEM
⎯ Visceral sensory neurons - arise from neural crest ⎯ Nerve plexuses - are either somatic or visceral and
cells, send processes medially into the adjacent combine fibers from different sources or levels to form
neural tube and laterally into regions associated with new nerves with specific targets or destinations.
the developing body. ⎯ Somatic plexuses - formed from the anterior rami of
⎯ General visceral afferent fibers (GVAs) - spinal nerves are the cervical (C1 to C4), brachial (C5
sensory neurons and their processes, are to T1), lumbar (L1 to L4), sacral (L4 to S4), and
associated primarily with chemoreception, coccygeal (S5 to Co) plexuses.
mechanoreception, and stretch reception. ⎯ Visceral nerve plexuses - are formed in association
⎯ Visceral motor neurons - arise from cells in lateral with viscera and generally contain efferent
regions of the neural tube, send processes out of (sympathetic and parasympathetic) and afferent
the anterior aspect of the tube. components
⎯ General visceral efferent fibers (GVEs) - M1Lesson1 - Nervous System- CNS and PNS (based on
develop outside the CNS from neural crest cells Module)
that migrate away from their original positions
close to the developing neural tube. BRAIN:
⎯ Preganglionic motor neurons - located in the ⎯ Cerebrum - 83% of its volume and consists of a pair
spinal cord of half globes called the cerebral hemispheres.
⎯ Preganglionic fibers – axons ⎯ Cerebellum - second-largest region of the brain
⎯ Postganglionic motor - located outside the CNS ⎯ Brainstem -
⎯ Postganglionic fibers – axons The Medulla Oblongata:
⎯ Ganglion - cell bodies of the visceral motor ⎯ All nerve fibers connecting the brain to the spinal
neurons outside the CNS cord pass through the medulla.
Parts of the CNS associated with visceral motor components: The Pons:
⎯ Brainstem cranial nerves (parasympathetic)– ⎯ broad anterior bulge rostral to the medulla
CN III, VII, IX, & X ⎯ Cerebellar peduncles – posteriorly, two pairs of
⎯ Parasympathetic system - is thick stalks
more restricted to innervation of - connects the cerebellum with the
the viscera only brainstem.
⎯ Spinal cords/segment (sympathetic) – T1 to L2 ⎯ Tracts of white matter - anterior half of the pons
& S2 to S4 is dominated.
⎯ Sympathetic system - innervates The Hindbrain and Midbrain:
structures in peripheral regions of
the body and viscera
The Midbrain:
⎯ Corpora Quadrigemina – posterior to the
cerebral aqueduct is a roof like tectum.
- four colliculi—two inferior, two
superior—located on the tectum of the
dorsal aspect of the midbrain.
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General Anatomy 2 | Vener’s Note
M1: NERVOUS SYSTEM
• Superior colliculi - functions in ⎯ most complex and challenging frontier of
visual attention, visually tracking neurobiology.
moving objects. The Lobes of the Cerebrum:
• Inferior colliculi - receives signals
from the inner ear and relays them
to other parts of the brain.
⎯ Cerebral peduncles - anterior to the cerebral
aqueduct
- connects the cerebrum with the brainstem
Each peduncle has three main
components:
• Tegmentum - is dominated by
the red nucleus, named for a
pink color imparted by its high
density of blood vessels.
• Substantia nigra - is a dark
gray to black nucleus The Basal Nuclei/Basal Ganglia:
pigmented with melanin. ⎯ masses of cerebral gray matter buried deep in the
• Cerebral crus - is a bundle of white matter, lateral to the thalamus.
nerve fibers that connect the ⎯ Motor control, receive input and send signal back
cerebrum to the pons and carry ⎯ Three many brain centers to classify as basal
the corticospinal nerve tracts. nuclei:
⎯ Central (periaqueductal) gray matter - • Caudate nucleus
surrounding the cerebral aqueduct is an • Putamen
arrowhead shaped body. • Globus pallidus
- reticulospinal tracts in controlling - Lentiform nucleus – putamen and globus
awareness of pain. pallidus, they form a lens shaped body.
The Cerebellum: - Corpus striatum – putamen and caudate
- highly active when a person explores nucleus, they are striped appearance.
objects with the fingertips. The Spinal Cord:
The Forebrain: The spinal cord serves three principal functions:
A. Diencephalon - encloses the third ventricle and is the A. Conduction - contains bundles of nerve fibers that
most rostral part of the brainstem conduct information up and down the cord,
B. Telencephalon - develops chiefly into the cerebrum. connecting different levels of the trunk with each other
The Diencephalon: and with the brain.
Three major derivatives: B. Locomotion - Walking involves repetitive,
• Thalamus - gateway to the cerebral cortex, largest coordinated contractions of several muscle groups in
part. the limbs.
- signals for taste, smell, hearing, C. Reflexes - are involuntary stereotyped responses to
equilibrium, and vision stimuli, such as the withdrawal of a hand from pain.
• Hypothalamus - major control center of the The spinal cord is divided into:
autonomic nervous system and endocrine system. A. Cervical
- to relay signals from the limbic system to B. Thoracic
the thalamus. C. Lumbar
- Pituitary gland - is attached to the D. Sacral regions
hypothalamus by a stalk (infundibulum)
between the optic chiasm and mammillary
bodies.
• Epithalamus - very small mass of tissue composed
mainly of the pineal, the habenula (a relay from the
limbic system to the midbrain), and a thin roof over
the third ventricle.
The Cerebrum:
⎯ sensory perception, memory, thought,
judgment, and voluntary motor actions.
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General Anatomy 2 | Vener’s Note
M1: NERVOUS SYSTEM
The Nerve Plexuses:
The Cranial Nerves:
