Central Nervous System and Brain Flashcards

Flashcards about the Central Nervous System and Brain Anatomy

What are the components of the Central Nervous System (CNS)?

Composed of the brain and spinal cord.

What is cephalization in the context of the central nervous system?

Evolutionary elaboration of the anterior portion of the CNS, resulting in an increase in the number of neurons in the head.

What are the key steps in the development of the neural tube?

The ectoderm thickens, forming the neural plate, which invaginates to form the neural groove, and then fuses dorsally to form the neural tube.

What are the three primary brain vesicles that form from the neural tube?

Prosencephalon (forebrain), Mesencephalon (midbrain), and Rhombencephalon (hindbrain).

What structures does the prosencephalon form?

The telencephalon and diencephalon.

What happens to the mesencephalon during the development of the secondary brain vesicles?

It remains undivided.

What structures does the rhombencephalon form?

The metencephalon and myelencephalon.

What are the six major regions of the adult brain?

Cerebrum, diencephalon, mesencephalon (midbrain), pons, medulla oblongata, and cerebellum.

What is the basic structural pattern of the spinal cord in the CNS?

Central cavity surrounded by a gray matter core, external to which is white matter.

How does the cerebrum's structural pattern differ from that of the spinal cord?

Gray matter in nuclei, and the cerebrum has nuclei and additional gray matter in the cortex.

What are the ventricles of the brain?

The paired C-shaped lateral ventricles, the third ventricle found in the diencephalon, and the fourth ventricle found in the hindbrain.

What are the three cranial meninges?

Dura mater, arachnoid mater, and pia mater.

What are the choroid plexuses?

Networks of ventricular capillaries and ependymal cells that form CSF by filtration of blood plasma.

What are the primary functions of CSF?

Cushions delicate neural structures, serves as a shock absorber, and transports nutrients, chemical messengers, and waste products.

How does CSF circulate?

Through all ventricles, from lateral towards the 4th ventricle, then into the central canal of the spinal cord, entering the subarachnoid spaces, and back to the blood stream via arachnoid villi into the superior sagittal sinus.

What is the superior sagittal sinus?

Large vein between folds of the dura mater where arachnoid villi return CSF to the bloodstream.

What does blockage of the arachnoid villi result in?

Outward pressure on the flexible skull in babies, and increased cranial pressure potentially leading to brain disorders in adults.