NERVOUS SYSTEM

Nervous System
Master control system

Master communication system

Very much important in controlling all the

voluntary and involuntary actions of all parts of
the body.

The nervous system consist of a special type of

cell, the neuron or nerve cell.
NEURON
A 
cell 
that carries electrical impulses. Neurons
are the basic units of the nervous system.

Every neuron is made of a 

cell 
body (also called a
soma), dendrites and an axon. Dendrites and axons
are nerve fibres.
PARTS OF NERVOUS SYSTEM
 Central Nervous system / CNS
Brain and spinal cord

 Peripheral Nervous system / PNS

1. 12 pairs of cranial and 31 pairs of spinal nerves

2. Afferent (sensory) division

3. Efferent (motor) division

A. Somatic - Voluntary movements
B. Autonomic nervous system (Cardiac, smooth Muscle, glands)
(sympathetic and parasympathetic)
BRAIN
 A mass of 12 billion neurons protected by cranial bones.

Parts of Brain
 Cerebrum

 Cerebellum

 Brainstem

 Diencephalon

 Ventricles

 Meninges
 Cerebrum
Largest part of the brain, Divided into right and left
hemispheres (the left side governs the right side of the body,
the right side governs the left side of the body)

Lobes
A. Frontal – voluntary motor control, learning, planning, and speech
B. Parietal – sensory, distance, size, shape, and intellectual processes
C. Occipital – vision and visual memory
D. Temporal – auditory, olfactory, speech, judgment, & reasoning
 Cerebral cortex - the outer layer of gray matter;
short- and long-term memory.

 Cerebral medulla – white matter, conduction

pathways

 Corpus callosum (large fibers that connect the two

hemispheres)

 Sulci and gyri

 Fissures – deep grooves

Cerebellum
1. The RT and LT hemispheres are connected by the central vermis.
2. Outer gray, inner white form the arbor vitae.
3. Coordinates
movement,
posture,
balance,
running,
walking.
 Brainstem
 Midbrain – the upper part of the brainstem.
- Controls postural reflexes and walking
- Visual reflexes and auditory control

 Pons – Two way conduction pathway.

 Medulla oblongata – the lowest part of the brainstem.

- 75% of nerve fibers cross here
- Controls vital functions (respiration and circulation)
Diencephalon
Area between the cerebrum and the midbrain

Thalamus - the relay station for sensory incoming

and motor outgoing impulses.

Hypothalamus - Controls appetite (hunger and

thirst)
- Regulates pituitary
secretions
 Meninges
Three membranous coverings. (Dura, Arachnoid, Pia)
Dura mater – strong fibrous tissue, lines the skull bones
 Epidural space – between the bone and the dura mater.
 Subdural space – between the dura and arachnoid layers.

Arachnoid – resembles fine cobwebs with fluid (CSF)

 Subarachnoid space – between the arachnoid and pia layers

Pia mater –covers the brain and spinal cord surface.

Cerebrospinal Fluid (CSF)
 Serves as a shock absorber for the brain and spinal cord.

 400-500 ml produced daily, yet only 140 ml is in circulation.

 Circulates through the ventricles and into the central canal

and subarachnoid spaces, and is absorbed back into the

blood.
 Provides nutrients and waste removal for brain tissues.

 It is clear, colorless, water, glucose, protein, and WBC.

Ventricles
 CSF-filled spaces, the rich network of blood vessels, the choroid
plexus. maintains selective permeability to protect brain tissue.

 Foramen of Monro – connects the lateral ventricles to the third

ventricle

 Aqueduct of Sylvus – connects the third and fourth ventricle

 In the roof of the fourth ventricle are openings, that allow the CSF to
move into the cisterna magna, a space behind the medulla that is
continuous with the subarachnoid space
Spinal Cord
 Medulla Oblongata continue as spinal cord.

 Deep grooves – anterior median fissure (deeper) and posterior median

sulcus.

 “H” - The gray matter of cell bodies of interneurons and motor

neurons, divided into anterior, posterior, & lateral horns.

 White matter surrounds gray “H”; divided into anterior,

posterior, and lateral columns. (large bundles of nerve axons
divided into smaller bundles called tracts); ascending and
descending, and lateral organizational tracts.
Two bundles of nerve fibers, called roots, project
from each side of the cord
a. Dorsal nerve root – sensory afferent fibers

b. Dorsal root ganglion – sensory cell bodies

c. Ventral nerve root – motor efferent fibers

d. The nerve roots join together to form a

single, mixed

nerve called a spinal nerve.

Peripheral Nervous System
Cranial Nerves – twelve pairs

1. Olfactory – I: sensory, smell

2. Optic – II: sensory, vision
3. Oculomotor – III: motor, eye movement and pupil
4. Trochlear – IV: motor, eye movement, peripheral vision
5. Trigeminal – V: both, face and head (motor & sensory)
6. Abducens – VI: motor, abducts eye
7. Facial Nerve – VII: both, facial expression, taste, tongue movement.

8. Vestibulocochlear – VIII: sensory, hearing and balance

9. Glossopharyngeal – IX: both, tongue, throat, swallowing

10. Vagus – X: both, organ sense (thoracic and abdominal) inhibitor

11. Accessory – XI: motor, spinal accessory, shoulder and head movement

12. Hypoglossal – XII: motor, tongue and throat movement

Spinal Nerves
 31 pairs of mixed nerves attached to the spinal cord
via ventral and dorsal roots. pass through
intervertebral foramina.

 Cervical – 8 pairs
 Thoracic – 12 pairs
 Lumbar – 5 pairs (exit the cord at the 1st lumbar
vertebra, but do not exit the spinal canal until
reaching their intervertebral foramina; this gives the
cord a “cauda equina”look),
 Sacral – 5 pairs
Each nerve joins to form network – Plexuses.
1. Cervical,
2. Brachial,
3. Lumbar,
4. Sacral

Dermatome is an area of skin that is mainly

supplied by a single spinal nerve.
Upper extremity nerves
Median nerve
Ulnar nerve
Radial nerve
Lower extremity
Femoral Nerve
Sciatic nerve
Common peroneal
Tibial nerve
Sural nerve
Special Senses
A. Sense of taste
B. Sense of smell
C. Sense of vision
D. Sense of hearing
E. Sense of touch, heat, cold, and pain
Medical Terms
encephal/o – brain
cephal/o – head
myel/o – spinal cord
myelin/o – myelin (Schwann cells)
radic/o, radicul/o – nerve root
psych/o ment/o – mind
esthesi/o – sensation
phas/o – speech
Dementia - to lose one’s mind
Epilepsy - upon (recurrent) seizures
Hemiparesis - half (of the body) slightly paralyzed
Hemiplegia - half (of the body) paralyzed
Hydrocephalus - water in the brain
Microencephaly - abnormally small head
Narcolepsy - sleep seizures
Schizophrenia - condition of split mind
THE END