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Structural Classification
• Central nervous system (CNS)
• Organs
• Brain
• Spinal cord
• Function
• Integration; command center
• Interprets incoming sensory information
• Issues outgoing instructions
Structural Classification
• Peripheral nervous system (PNS)
• Nerves extending from the brain and spinal cord
• Spinal nerves—carry impulses to and from the spinal cord
• Cranial nerves—carry impulses to and from the brain
• Functions
• Serve as communication lines among sensory organs, the brain and
spinal cord, and glands or muscles
Functional Classification
• Motor (efferent) division (continued)
• Two subdivisions
• Somatic nervous system = voluntary
• Consciously (voluntarily) controls skeletal muscles
• Autonomic nervous system = involuntary
• Automatically controls smooth and cardiac muscles and glands
• Further divided into the sympathetic and parasympathetic
nervous systems
Brain Dysfunctions
• Traumatic brain injuries
• Concussion
• Slight brain injury
• Typically little permanent brain damage occurs
• Contusion
• Marked nervous tissue destruction occurs
• Coma may occur
• Death may occur after head blows due to:
• Intracranial hemorrhage
• Cerebral edema
Brain Dysfunctions
• Cerebrovascular accident (CVA), or stroke
• Results when blood circulation to a brain area is blocked and brain tissue dies
• Loss of some functions or death may result
• Hemiplegia—one-sided paralysis
• Aphasia—damage to speech center in left hemisphere
• Transient ischemic attack (TIA)
• Temporary brain ischemia (restriction of blood flow)
• Numbness, temporary paralysis, impaired speech
Spinal Cord
• Extends from the foramen magnum of the skull to the first or second lumbar vertebra
• Cauda equina is a collection of spinal nerves at the inferior end
• Provides a two-way conduction pathway to and from the brain
• 31 pairs of spinal nerves arise from the spinal cord
Spinal Cord
• White matter of the spinal cord
• Composed of myelinated fiber tracts
• Three regions: dorsal, lateral, ventral columns
• Sensory (afferent) tracts conduct impulses toward brain
• Motor (efferent) tracts carry impulses from brain to skeletal muscles
Structure of a Nerve
• Nerves are bundles of neurons found outside the CNS
• Endoneurium is a connective tissue sheath that surrounds each fiber
• Perineurium wraps groups of fibers bound into a fascicle
• Epineurium binds groups of fascicles
Structure of a Nerve
• Mixed nerves
• Contain both sensory and motor fibers
• Sensory (afferent) nerves
• Carry impulses toward the CNS
• Motor (efferent) nerves
• Carry impulses away from the CNS
Cranial Nerves
• 12 pairs of nerves serve mostly the head and neck
• Only the pair of vagus nerves extends to thoracic and abdominal cavities
• Most are mixed nerves, but three are sensory only
1. Optic
2. Olfactory
3. Vestibulocochlear
Spinal Nerves
• Spinal nerves
• 31 pairs
• Formed by the combination of the ventral and dorsal roots of the spinal cord
• Named for the region of the spinal cord from which they arise
Spinal Nerves
• Spinal nerves divide soon after leaving the spinal cord into a dorsal ramus and a
ventral ramus
• Ramus—branch of a spinal nerve; contains both motor and sensory fibers
• Dorsal rami—serve the skin and muscles of the posterior trunk
• Ventral rami (T1–T12) —form the intercostal nerves that supply muscles and
skin of the ribs and trunk
• Ventral rami (except T1–T12)—form a complex of networks (plexus) for the
anterior
Spinal Nerves
• Plexus—networks of nerves serving motor and sensory needs of the limbs
• Form from ventral rami of spinal nerves in the cervical, lumbar, and sacral regions
• Four plexuses
1. Cervical
2. Brachial
3. Lumbar
4. Sacral
Autonomic Functioning
• Body organs served by the autonomic nervous system receive fibers from both
divisions
• Exceptions: blood vessels, structures of the skin, some glands, and the
adrenal medulla
• These exceptions receive only sympathetic fibers
Autonomic Functioning
• When body divisions serve the same organ, they cause antagonistic effects due to
different neurotransmitters
• Parasympathetic (cholinergic) fibers release acetylcholine
• Sympathetic postganglionic (adrenergic) fibers release norepinephrine
• Preganglionic axons of both divisions release acetycholine
Autonomic Functioning
• Parasympathetic—“housekeeping” activites
• “Rest-and-digest” system
• Conserves energy
• Maintains daily necessary body functions
• Remember as the “D” division
• Digestion
• Defecation
• Diuresis