Brain stem spial cord

white matter gray

matter
By SARA DILSHAD
Basic Organization
• I. : A. Central Nervous System (CNS)—brain and spinal cord
• B. Peripheral Nervous System (PNS)—all cranial and spinal nerves and their
associated roots and ganglia
• Functional PNS Divisions:
• A. Somatic Nervous System—a one neuron system that innervates (voluntary)
skeletal muscle or somatosensory receptors of the skin, muscle & joints.
• B. Autonomic Nervous System—a two neuron visceral efferent system that
innervates cardiac and smooth muscle and glands. It is involuntary and has
two major subdivisions:
• 1) Sympathetic (thoracolumbar)
• 2) Parasympathetic (craniosacral)
Deep within the cerebral
hemispheres
• There are groups of
cell bodies called nuclei (previously called ganglia) which
act as relay stations where impulses are passed from one
neuron to the next in a chain
• Important
masses of grey matter include:
• basal nuclei
• thalamus
• hypothalamus.
• Basal nuclei. These are areas of grey matter, lying deep
within the cerebral hemispheres, with connections to the
cerebral cortex and thalamus.
• The basal nuclei form part
of the extrapyramidal tracts and are thought to be
involved in initiating muscle tone in slow and coordinated activities.
• If control is inadequate or absent, movements are jerky, clumsy and
uncoordinated
• Thalamus. The thalamus consists of two masses of nerve
cells and fibres situated within the cerebral hemispheres
just below the corpus callosum, one on each side of the
third ventricle.
• Sensory input from the skin, viscera and
special sense organs is transmitted to the thalamus before
redistribution to the cerebrum.
Hypothalamus

• The hypothalamus is composed of a

number of groups of nerve cells.
• It is situated below and in front of the thalamus, immediately above
the pituitarygland.
• The hypothalamus is linked to the posterior lobe of
the pituitary gland by nerve fibres and to the anterior
lobe by a complex system of blood vessels.
• Through these connections, the hypothalamus controls the output of
hormones from both lobes of the gland.
Functions of Hypothalamus
• The autonomic nervous system
appetite and satiety
thirst and water balance
body temperature
emotional reactions, e.g. pleasure, fear, rage
sexual behaviour including mating and child rearing
biological clocks or circadianrhythms, e.g. sleeping
and waking cycles, body temperature and secretion of
some hormones
Brain stem
• Midbrain
The midbrain is the area of the brain situated around the
cerebral aqueduct between the cerebrum above and the
pons below.
• It consists of groups of cell bodies and nerve
fibres (tracts) which connect the cerebrum with lower
parts of the brain and with the spinal cord.
• The cell bodies act as relay stations for the ascending and descending
nerve fibres
Pons
•
The pons is situated in front of the cerebellum, below the
midbrain and above the medulla oblongata.
• It consists
mainly of nerve fibres which form a bridge between the
two hemispheres of the cerebellum, and of fibres passing
between the higher levels of the brain and the spinal
cord.
• There are groups of cells within the pons which act
as relay stations and some of these are associated with
the cranial nerves.
The anatomical structure of the pons differs from that
of the cerebrum in that the cell bodies (grey matter) lie
deeply and the nerve fibres are on the surface
Medullaoblongata
•
The medulla oblongata extends from the pons above and
is continuous with the spinal cord below.
• It is about 2.5 cm long and it lies just within the cranium above the
foramen magnum. Its anterior and posterior surfaces are
marked by central fissures.
• The outer aspect is composed of white matter which passes between the brain
and the
spinal cord, and grey matter lies centrally.
• Some cells constitute relay stations for sensory nerves passing from the
spinal cord to the cerebrum.
• The vital centres, consisting of groups of cells associated
with autonomic reflex activity, lie in its deeper structure.
These are the:
• cardiac centre
• respiratory centre
• vasomotor centre
• reflex centres ofvomiting, coughing, sneezing
White and Gray Matter
•
The brain and the spinal cord contain gray matter and white matter. The gray matter of the
CNS consists of neurons, their dendrites, and the supportive cells called neuroglia.
• This region
represents the site of connections or synapses between a multitude of neurons and dendrites.
Gray matter covers the surface of the brain (cerebrum) and cerebellum. The size, shape, and
mode of branching of these neurons are highly variable and depend on which region of the
CNS is examined.
White matter in the CNS is devoid of neuronal cell bodies and consists primarily of myelinated
axons, some unmyelinated axons, and the supportive neuroglial oligodendrocytes. The
myelin sheaths around the axons impart a white color to this region of the CNS.
The Spinal cord
• Location
The spinal cord is the most important content of the vertebral canal.
The upper end of the
spinal cord becomes continuous with the medulla oblongata. The
lowest part of the spinal
cord is conical and is called the conus medullaris. The conus is
continuous, below, with a
fibrous cord called the filum terminale (modification of pia mater
It is continuous above with the
medulla oblongata and extends from the upper border of
the atlas to the lower border of the 1st lumbar vertebra

It is approximately 45 cm long in an adult

• sensory nerves from organs and tissues enter and pass
upwards in the spinal cord to the brain.
• spinal reflexes some activities of the spinal cord are independent of
the brain, i.e.
Structure of spinal cord
• The spinal cord is incompletely divided into two equal
parts, anteriorly by a short, shallow median fissure
posteriorly by a deep narrow septum, the posterior median
septum.
the grey matter of the spinal cord forms an H­shaped mass
it is composed of grey matter in the centre surrounded by white
matter supported by neuroglia
• Grey matter of spinal cord
• In each half of the cord the grey matter is divisible into a larger
ventral mass, the anterior (or ventral) grey column
• and a narrow elongated posterior (or dorsal) grey column.
• lateral projection of grey matter is seen between the ventral and
dorsal grey columns. This is the lateral grey column.
• The greymatter of the right and left halves of the spinal cord is
connected across the middle line by the grey commissure that is
traversed by the central canal. T
• he central canal of the spinal cord
contains cerebrospinal fluid. The canal is lined by ependyma
The white matter of the spinal
cord
• is divided into right and left halves, in front by a deep
anterior median fissure, and behind by the posterior median septum. In
each half of the cord
the white matter medial to the dorsal grey column forms the posterior
funiculus (or posterior
white column). The white matter medial and ventral to the anterior grey
column forms the
anterior funiculus (or anterior white column), while the white matter
lateral to the anterior nd posterior grey columns forms the lateral
funiculus
• Th e white matter of the right and left halves of the spinal cord is
continuous across
the middle line through the ventral white commissure which lies
anterior to the grey
commissure.
• Th e white matter contains tracts (ascending or descending) that
connect grey
matter at different levels of the spinal cord. Some tracts ascend into
(or descend from) the
brainstem, the cerebellum or the cerebral cortex.
PNS
• This part of the nervous system consists of:
• 31 pairs of spinal nerves
• 12 pairs of cranial nerves
• the autonomic part ofthenervous system.
• Most of the nerves of the peripheral nervous system are
composed of sensory nerve fibres conveying afferent
impulses from sensory end organs to the brain
• Motor nerve fibres conveying efferent impulses from the brain
through the spinal cord to the effector organs, e.g. skeletal muscles,
smooth muscle and glands.
Each nerve consists of numerous nerve fibres collected
into bundles
• Each bundle has several coverings of protective connective tissue
• Endoneurium is a delicate tissue, surrounding each
individual fibre, which is continuous with the septa
that pass inwards from the perineurium.
• Perineurium is a smooth connective tissue,
surrounding each bundle of fibres.
• Epineurium is the fibrous tissue which surroundsand
encloses a number of bundles of nerve fibres. Most
large nerves are covered by epineurium