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White matter
Gray matter
Brain
Gray Matter
Surfaces of cerebrum and cerebellum
(forming cerebral cortex)
Contain neuronal bodies, dendrites and the
initial unmyelinated portions of axons and
glial cells
This is the region at which synapses occur
Nuclei are aggregates of neuronal bodies
forming islands of gray matter embedded in
the white matter
Brain
White Matter
Central portion
Main component is myelinated axons
and the myelin-producing
oligodendrocytes
Does not contain neuronal cell bodies
Spinal Cord
White matter is peripheral while gray matter
is central
Assuming the shape of an H
Where central canal (lined by ependymal cells) is
located
Anterior horn (motor)
Posterior horn (sensory)
Spinal Cord
Gray matter
Contains abundant astrocytes and large neuronal
bodies
White matter
Surrounds gray matter
Contains oligodendrocytes and tracts of myelinated
axons
Peripheral Nervous System (PNS)
Cranial Nerves
Spinal nerves
Cranial Nerves
I Olfactory VII Facial
II Optic VIII Auditory
III Oculomotor IX Glossopharyngeal
IV Trochlear X Vagus
V Trigeminal XI Spinal Accessory
VI Abducens XII Hypoglossal
Spinal Nerves
31 pairs of spinal nerves
Ganglia
Peripheral Nerve Pathways
Afferent pathways (ascending pathways)
Carry sensory impulses toward the CNS
Efferent pathways (descending pathways)
Innervate skeletal muscle or effector organs by
transmitting motor impulses away from the CNS
Peripheral Nerve System
Function
Relay information from the CNS to
muscles and effector organs through
Cranial and spinal nerve tracts that are
arranged in fascicles
Multiple fascicles bound together to form
the peripheral nerve
Functional Classification
Somatic Nervous System
Consists of pathways that regulate voluntary
motor control
Ex. Skeletal muscles
Dura mater
Arachnoid membrane
Pia mater
Dura Mater
Third ventricle
Cerebral aqueduct
(aqueduct of Sylvius)
Fourth ventricle
33 vertebrae
7 cervical
12 thoracic
5 lumbar
5 fused sacral
5 fused coccygeal
Intervertebral disks
Blood-Brain Barrier
Cell body
Covered by cell membrane
Vary in size and shape and the mode
of branching of its processes
In the CNS the cell body is typically
angular or polygonal with slightly
concave surfaces between the
processes
Parts of a Neuron
Size and shape Small, cylindrical & Broad-based & taper off
uniform in diameter as it branches
Most neurons
Retina, olfactory
mucosa, cochlear and
vestibular ganglia
Spinal and cranial ganglia
Synapse
Ependymal cells
Astrocytes
Star-shaped; largest of the glial cells
Most numerous of glial cells
Have bundles of intermediate
filaments made of glial fibrillary acid
protein (GFAP)
Astrocytes
2 types
Fibrous astrocytes
Located in the white matter
With few long processes
Protoplasmic astrocytes
Found in the gray matter
With many short-branched processes
Astrocytes
Functions
Maintain homeostasis in the
extracellular fluid
Bind neurons to capillaries and to the
pia mater
Structural support
Repair processes
Oligodendrocytes
Epineurium
Perineurium
Endoneurium
Nerves
Contain both afferent and efferent fibers
Nerves possessing sensory fibers are called
sensory nerves; those with motor fibers are
motor nerves
Most nerves have mixed nerves
Ganglia
Ovoid structures containing neuronal
cell bodies and glial cells supported by
connective tissues
Serve as relay stations to transmit
nerve impulses
Sensory ganglia receive afferent impulses
that go to the CNS
Autonomic ganglia are especially found in
the walls of the digestive tract
Supporting Cells
PNS
Satellite cells
Flattened cells which form a continuous
capsule around nerve cell bodies in the
ganglion
Supporting Cells
PNS
Schwann cells or Neurolemmocytes
Elongated cells arranged end to end along
the course of the nerve fibers in the PNS
Form a long thin tube which surround the
nerve fiber called the sheath of Schwann or
neurilemma
Responsible for the formation of myelin
sheath in the PNS
Clockwise or
Counterclockwise?