Ch. 7.6 Nervous System Key Terms
What is autonamic nervous system
The autonomic nervous system contains the sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous systems, which work together to control involuntary body functions.
What is cerebrum
Cerebrum: the largest and highest section of the brain.
What is midbrain
Midbrain: the section located below the cerebrum at the top of the brainstem.
What is peripheral nervous system
The peripheral nervous system (PNS) consists of the nerves and has two divisions.
What is thalamus
Thalamus acts as a relay center and directs sensory impulses to the cerebrum.
What is brain
The brain is a mass of nerve tissue well protected by membranes and the cranium, or skull.
What is diencephalon
Diencephalon: the section located between the cerebrum and midbrain.
What is nerves
Nerves are a combination of many nerve fibers located outside the brain and spinal cord.
What is pons
A part of the brainstem located between the midbrain and the medulla oblongata that functions as a vital relay center for information and controls several essential unconscious functions.
What is ventricles
Hollow spaces that connect with each other and with the space under the arachnoid membrane (the subarachnoid space.
What is central nervous system
The central nervous system (CNS) consists of the brain and spinal cord.
What is hypothalamus
The hypothalamus regulates and controls the autonomic nervous system, temperature, appetite, water balance, sleep, and blood vessel constriction and dilation.
What is nervous system
A complex network of nerves that includes the brain, spinal cord, and all the nerves throughout the body
What is somatic nervous system
The somatic nervous system consists of 12 pairs of cranial nerves and their branches, and 31 pairs of spinal nerves and their branches.
What is cerebellum
Cerebellum: the section below the back of the cerebrum.
What is medulla oblongata
Medulla oblongata: the lowest part of the brainstem.
What is neuron
A neuron, the basic structural unit of the nervous system to alert the brain.
What is spinal cord
It is surrounded and protected by the vertebrae. The spinal cord is responsible for many reflex actions and for carrying sensory (afferent) messages up to the brain and motor (efferent) messages from the brain to the nerves that go to the muscles and glands,
What is cerebrospinal fluid
Clear, colorless fluid. This fluid circulates continually between the ventricles and through the subarachnoid space.
What is meninges
The meninges are three membranes that cover and protect the brain and spinal cord.
What is parasympathetic
The "rest and digest" division of the autonomic nervous system that calms the body, slows the heart rate, and promotes functions like digestion and waste elimination.
What is sympathetic
The sympathetic nervous system prepares the body to act by increasing heart rate, respiration,ase! and blood pressure, and by slowing activity in the digestive tract.