Anatomy Exam 4

What parts form the brain?

1. brain stem (medulla oblongata, pons, mesencephalon/midbrain)

2. Diencephalon

3. Cerebellum

4. Cerebrum

What structures contain the cardiovascular centers, respiratory centers, apneustic and pneumotaxic centers?

Cardiovascular and respiratory centers → Medulla oblongata

Apneustic and pneumotaxic centers → pons

Know the sections of the brain stem from superior to inferior

Superior → Inferior

Midbrain

Pons

Medulla Oblongata

What sections form Diencephalon?

• Thalamus

• Epithalamus

  • Pineal Gland

• Hypothalamus

  • Pituitary Gland

What are the locations and general functions of the Thalamus and the hypothalamus?

Thalamus: coordinates motor activities, receives information from sensory fibers and passes it to the cerebrum and brain stem

Hypothalamus: center of homeostasis and behavioral drives (hunger and thirst), involved with emotions and visceral process, links the nervous and endocrine system

Know the names of nuclei and centers located in the Thalamus

Know the names of nuclei and centers located in the Hypothalamus

Where are the longitudinal fissure, the arbor vitae, the vermis, and the primary fissure located?

What structures divide the cerebellum into lobes and hemispheres?

Vermis: divides the cerebellum into left and right hemispheres

Primary Fissure: divides the cerebellum into anterior and posterior lobes

Know where the corpora quadrigemina is located and its function

Located at the posterior portion of the midbrain

Functions: relays signals for auditory reflexes (inferior colliculus) and visual reflexes (superior colliculus)

Describe the structures that form the white and grey matter of the medulla oblongata

Gray matter: nuclei that control blood pressure, breathing, swallowing, and vomiting

White matter: somatosensory and corticospinal tracts (from the cerebrum to the spinal cord)

Describe the structures that form the white and grey matter of the cerebrum

Gray matter: cerebral cortex, basal nuclei and limbic system

White matter: inner layers of the cerebrum, corpus callosum

Describe the structures that form the white and grey matter of the cerebellum

Gray matter: cerebellar cortex and deep cerebellar nuclei

White matter: arbor vitae

What are the components of the limbic system?

Cingulate gyrus: plays a role in emotion

Thalamus: processes sensory information and helps with memory/emotion

Hypothalamus: produces hormones for homeostasis

Hippocampus: involved in learning and memory

Amygdala: involved in emotion and memory

What is cerebral lateralization?

Cerebral lateralization: each hemisphere has special function not shared by the other hemisphere

What are the functions and locations of the Wernicke’s and Broca’s areas?

Wernicke’s area: speech production and articulation, processing grammar

Broca’s area: comprehension of spoken and written language

Know the location of the spinal cord

extends from the foramen magnum to the first or second lumbar vertebrae, runs into the vertebral canal

Using a figure, identify the segments of the spinal cord

31 segments in 4 regions

• cervical

• thoracic

• lumbar

• sacral

What are the components of each
segment of the spinal cord?

Each segment has…

• Dorsal root ganglia: cell bodies

• Dorsal root: afferent axons (sensory neurons)

• Ventral root: efferent visceral motor neurons

• Efferent and afferent fibers form a spinal nerve which exits from the intervertebral foramina

What is the organization of gray and white matter in the spinal cord and brain?

Gray matter: nuclei of glia cells and neurons form an “H” shape

• surrounds a central canal

• called horns due to their shape

White matter: neuronal processes (myelinated and unmyelinated axons)

• axons are organized into tracts called funiculi

Describe the following: lumbar enlargement, cervical enlargement, conus medullaris, cauda
equina, and filum teminale?