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Chapter 10 Chabner
Vocabulary
Term | Definition |
---|---|
acetylcholine | Neurotransmitter chemical released at ends of nerve cells |
afferent nerve | Carries messages toward the brain and spinal cord |
arachnoid membrane | Middle layer of the three membranes that surround the brain and spinal cord |
astrocyte | Glial cell that transports water and salts from capillaries |
autonomic nervous system | Nerves that control involuntary body functions of muscles, glands, and internal organs |
axon | Microscopic fiber that carries the nervous impulse along a nerve cell |
blood-brain barrier | Protective separation between the blood and brain cells that keeps substances (such as anticancer drugs) from penetrating capillary walls and entering the brain |
cauda equine | Collection of spinal nerves below the end of the spinal cord |
cell body | The part of a nerve cell that contains the nucleus |
central nervous system (CNS) | The brain and spinal cord |
cerebellum | The posterior part of the brain that coordinates muscle movements and maintains balance |
cerebral cortex | Outer region of the cerebrum; contains sheets of nerve cells; gray matter |
cerebrospinal fluid | Circulates throughout the brain and spinal cord |
cerebrum | The largest part of the brain; responsible for voluntary muscle activity, vision, speech, taste, hearing, thought, and memory |
cranial nerves | Twelve pairs; carry messages to and from the brain with regard to the head and neck (except the vagus nerve) |
dendrite | Microscopic branching fiber of a nerve cell; the first part to receive the nervous impulse |
dura mater | The thick, outermost layer of the meninges surrounding and protecting the brain and spinal cord |
efferent nerve | Carries messages away from the brain and spinal cord; motor nerve |
ependymal cell | Glial cell that lines the membranes within the brain and spinal cord; helps form cerebrospinal fluid |
ganglion (plural: ganglia) | Collection of nerve cell bodies in the peripheral nervous system |
glial cell (neuroglial cell) | Supportive and connective nerve cell that does not carry nervous impulses; can reproduce itself |
gyrus (plural: gyri) | Sheet of nerve cells that produces a rounded ridge on the surface of the cerebral cortex; convolution |
hypothalamus | The portion of the brain beneath the thalamus; controls sleep, appetite, body temperature, and pituitary gland secretions |
medulla oblangata | The part of the brain just above the spinal cord; controls breathing, heartbeat, and size of blood vessels |
meniges | Three protective membranes that surround the brain and spinal cord |
microglial cell | Phagocytic glial cell that removes waste products from the central nervous system |
Midbrain | Uppermost portion of the brainstem |
motor nerve | Carries messages away from the brain and spinal cord to muscles and organs; efferent nerve |
myelin sheath | Covering of white fatty tissue that surrounds and insulates the axon of a nerve cell; speeds impulse conduction |
nerve | Macroscopic cord-like collection of fibers (axons and dendrites) that carry electrical impulses |
neuron | Nerve cell that carries impulses throughout the body; parenchyma of the nervous system |
neurotransmitter | Chemical messenger released at the end of a nerve cell; stimulates or inhibits another cell |
oligodendroglial cell | Glial cell that forms the myelin sheath covering axons; oligodendrocyte |
parasympathetic nerves | Involuntary, autonomic nerves that regulate normal body functions such as heart rate, breathing, and muscles of the gastrointestinal tract |
parenchyma | Essential, distinguishing tissue of any organ or system; for the nervous system, neurons and nerves that carry impulses |
peripheral nervous system | Nerves outside the brain and spinal cord; cranial, spinal, and autonomic nerves |
pia mater | The thin, delicate inner membrane of the meninges |
plexus (plural: plexuses) | A large, interlacing network of nerves |
pons | The part of the brain anterior to the cerebellum and between the medulla and the rest of the midbrain |
receptor | An organ that receives a nervous stimulus and passes it on to afferent nerves; the skin, ears, eyes, and taste buds are receptors |
sciatic nerve | The nerve extending from the base of the spine down the thigh, lower leg, and foot |
sensory nerve | Carries messages toward the brain and spinal cord from receptor; afferent nerve |
spinal nerves | Thirty-one pairs arising from the spinal cord |
stimulus (plural: sulci) | Depression or groove in the surface of the cerebral cortex; fissure |
sympathetic nerves | Autonomic nerves that influence bodily functions involuntary in times of stress |
synapse | The space through which a nervous impulse travels between nerve cells or between nerve and muscle or glandular cells |
thalamus | main relay center of the brain; conducts impulses between the spinal cord and the cerebrum |
vagus nerve | Tenth cranial nerve; branches reach to the larynx, trachea, bronchi, lungs, aorta, esophagus, and stomach |
ventricles of the brain | Canals in the brain that contain cerebrospinal fluid |