Nervous System - Biomechanics, Chapter 1

What are the three divisions of the nervous system?

Autonomic, central, peripheral

What are the autonomic nervous system divisions?

Sympathetic and parasympathetic

What is the function of blood vessels?

Deliver nutrients and remove waste

What is the function of the arteries?

Carry blood away from the heart to body tissues

What is the function of capillaries?

Delivers blood directly to cells

What is the function of veins?

Returns blood to your heart from capillaries

What kind of tissue is described below?

Fibrous connective tissue that covers, connects, or supports other tissues

Fascia

What kind of tissue is described below?

Fluid-filled sac that protects muscles, tendons, and ligaments as they cross bony prominences

Bursa

What condition forms when Bursa becomes inflamed, often caused from infection, pressure, or a direct blow to the area?

Bursitis

What makes up the Central Nervous System?

Brain and spinal cord

What is the function of the CNS?

Process information; command center for information from PNS

What are the three major divisions of the CNS?

Forebrain, midbrain, hindbrain

What makes up the forebrain?

Cerebrum (2 hemispheres), thalamus, hypothalamus

What makes up the hindbrain?

Medulla, pons, cerebellum

What is the function of the cerebellum?

Balance and coordination

What is the function of the medulla?

Controls breathing, blood pressure, and heart rate

What is the function of the pons?

Helps regulate functions and relays signals to rest of brain

What is the function of the midbrain?

Involved in alertness, sleep/wake cycle, and motor activity

What makes up the brainstem?

Hindbrain (cerebellum, medulla, pons) and midbrain

What is the function of the cerebrum? (both halves, forebrain)

Speech, thinking and reasoning, sensing, emotions

What is the function of the thalamus?

Sensory and motor information

What is the function of the hypothalamus?

Major control over endocrine system (hormones)

What is the outer layer of the cerebrum called, which contains many cell bodies and dendrites?

Gray matter

What two systems make up the Peripheral Nervous System? (PNS)

Autonomic nervous system (ANS) and somatic nervous system (SNS)

What is the function of the Somatic Nervous System? (SNS)

Motor functions of skeletal muscle, voluntary actions, and reflexes involving skeletal muscle

What is the function of the Autonomic Nervous System? (ANS)

Involved with internal environment; gastrointestinal, excretory, endocrine, smooth and cardiac muscle functions, and autonomic reflexes

How many pairs of cranial nerves and spinal nerves are there in the Peripheral Nervous System?

12 cranial nerve pairs and 31 spinal nerve pairs

What is the function of the Sympathetic Nervous System?

Responsible for fight-or-flight response

What is the function of the Parasympathetic Nervous System?

Responsible for rest and digest response

What is the general structure of a neuron?

Cell body, dendrites, and axon

What is the cell body?

Houses nucleus and most other organelles

What are dendrites?

Branched structures receiving signals

What are axons?

Fibers that send signals to other cells

What is a synapse?

Junction area where neurons communicate with other cells

What cells have these functions?

• Keep balance of chemicals between cells, essential for signaling, and maintains blood-brain barrier keeping substances in the body from getting into nervous system

• Make myelin, insulating the axon and transferring of the signal

• Produce cerebrospinal fluid that protects the brain and is essential for homeostasis

• Have important immune function in nervous system

Glial cells

What is a myelin sheath?

Myelin that wraps around axons in neurons, insulating it

What is the function of Action Potential?

Makes dendrites and axons communication go fast

True or False: Resting potential is more positive than its surroundings.

False

What electrical charge does resting potential typically have?

-70 mv

What are the ions involved outside of the cell during resting phase?

Chloride, anions, potassium, and sodium

Which two ions are the most important in keeping resting potential?

Potassium and sodium (Na+)

True or False: Potassium is higher outside of the cell, while Sodium is higher inside of the cell.

True

What does Depolarization do?

Sodium floods the axon region by region, while most potassium channels stay closed

What are the gaps between the myelin sheath called?

Nodes of Ranvier

What is the connection between nerve fibers and muscle fibers called?

Myoneural junction

Motor nerves are also referred to as what?

Efferent nerves

Sensory nerves are also referred to as what?

Afferent nerves

When do Neurotransmitters come into play?

When action potential signals synaptic vessels to release them

What is the small space that Neurotransmitters typically need to travel through?

Synaptic cleft