Peripheral Nervous System & Spinal Cord – Lecture Review

Fill-in-the-blank flashcards reviewing key facts about the peripheral nervous system, spinal cord anatomy, neuronal pathways, and clinical correlations.

The __ nervous system is composed of the brain and spinal cord.

central

The peripheral nervous system contains pairs of cranial nerves and _ pairs of spinal nerves.

12; 31

Most spinal nerves are named for the vertebra _ which they emerge, except the cervical nerves C1–C8.

below

The afferent division carries _ information

Sensory

The efferent division carries _ information

Motor

The General Somatic Afferent (GSA) carries _ information from a _ structure.

sensory, somatic

General Visceral Afferent (GVA) fibers carry _ information from _ structures.

sensory, visceral

General Somatic Efferent (GSE) fibers convey _ commands to __ structures.

Motor, somatic

General visceral efferent (GVE) fibers convey _ commands to __ structures.

Motor, visceral

The autonomic (visceral motor) fibers are classified as __.

General Visceral Efferent (GVE)

_ sensation is typically conscious, sharp, and well-localized, whereas _ sensation is often unconscious (or dull) and poorly localized.

Somatic, visceral

The body wall is mostly in nature, whereas the body cavity is entirely .

somatic; visceral

The spinal cord terminates at the __ between vertebral levels L1 and L2.

conus medullaris

The bundle of nerve roots inferior to the conus medullaris is called the __.

cauda equina

The three spinal meninges, from outermost to innermost, are __, __, and __.

dura mater; arachnoid mater; pia mater

The epidural space lies between the dura mater and the __ and is filled with fat and blood vessels.

vertebral canal

Cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) is found in the __ space between arachnoid and pia mater.

subarachnoid

A lumbar puncture to sample CSF is safely performed between vertebrae or _, below the level of the conus medullaris.

L3 & L4 (L4&L5)

Multipolar neurons are typically _neurons, while pseudounipolar neurons are _neurons.

motor (efferent); sensory (afferent)

In a spinal cord cross-section, gray matter primarily transmits information __, while white matter transmits information up and down the cord.

laterally to and from spinal nerves

The dorsal (posterior) root of a spinal nerve carries _ fibers.

sensory (afferent)

The ventral (anterior) root carries only __ fibers.

motor (efferent)

Both sensory and motor fibers travel together in the dorsal and ventral __ of a spinal nerve.

rami

The dorsal ramus primarily innervates the _ and _ of the back and neck.

Skin, intrinsic muscles

The _ supplies mixed fibers to the rest of the body.

ventral ramus

The four major somatic plexuses are _, __, _, and _.

cervical (C1-C5), brachial (C5-T1), intercostal (T1-T12), and lumbosacral (L1-S4)

In a plexus, one spinal nerve can contribute to multiple peripheral nerves, and one peripheral nerve can receive fibers from __ spinal nerves.

many

A dermatome is an area of skin supplied by sensory fibers of a single __ level.

spinal cord

Dermatomes of C5–T1 migrate into the developing upper limb during embryogenesis, illustrating __ of the limb bud.

peripheral segmentation

Cutaneous sensory territories of peripheral nerves often __ with adjacent dermatomes, providing redundancy.

overlap

Structures such as the filum terminale and denticulate ligaments are specializations of the __ that anchor the spinal cord.

pia mater

The autonomic nervous system divides into _, __, and _ subdivisions.

parasympathetic, sympathetic, enteric