Download Study Guide for The Spinal Cord – Chapter 8, Part B Be familiar with

Study Guide for The Spinal Cord – Chapter 8, Part B
Be familiar with the following terms and their biological importance (structure and function):
arachnoid membrane, central canal, central nervous system, cerebrospinal fluid, cervical
enlargement, conus medullaris, dorsal (posterior) gray horn, dorsal root (sensory fibers), dorsal
root ganglion, dura mater, effector, endoneurium, epineurium, ganglion, gray matter,
interneuron, lateral gray horn, lumbar enlargement, meninges, monosynaptic and polysynaptic
reflex arc, motor neuron (fiber), nerve, nucleus (CNS), perineurium, peripheral nervous system,
pia mater, reflex arc, sensory neuron (fiber), sensory receptor, spinal nerve (which is both motor
and sensory), stretch receptor, subarachnoid space, ventral (anterior) gray horn, ventral root
(which contains motor fibers), white matter
Be familiar with the internal organization of the spinal cord (gray matter: dorsal, ventral and
lateral horns; white matter) and its functional organization.
Be very familiar with the components and function of a reflex arc such as the knee-jerk reflex.
Why would it be safer for a medical professional to do a spinal tap between lumbar vertebrae #4
and #5 instead of between thoracic vertebra # 12 and lumbar vertebra #1?
What are three major functions of the spinal cord?
Why are spinal reflexes advantageous?
What are the components of a reflex arc? What is the role of each of these components?
Practice questions:
1. The connective tissue layer that encloses individual nerve fibers (axons) within a spinal
nerve is the:
a. axolemma
b. endoneurium
c. epineurium
d. neurilemma
e. perineurium
2. The spinal cord typically ends near the upper border of which vertebra?
a. T4
b. T12
c. L2
d. L5
e. S5
3. The element of a spinal reflex that acts as the decision maker (integrator) is the:
a. effector
b. motor neuron
c. receptor
d. sensory neuron
e. spinal cord
4.
a.
b.
c.
d.
Destruction of the ventral horn of the spinal cord would damage:
afferent neuron cell bodies
efferent neuron cell bodies
interneuron cell bodies
myelinated dendrites of many types of neurons
5. The dorsal root of a spinal nerve contains axons of ___ neurons
a. association
b. commissural
c. motor
d. projection
e. sensory
6. The dorsal root ganglion contains cell bodies of:
a. association neurons
b. commissural neurons
d. projection neurons
e. sensory neurons
c. motor neurons
7. The innermost connective tissue covering of the spinal cord is the:
a. arachnoid
b. dura mater
c. pia mater
d. doesn’t mater
8. The cells that myelinate the axons found within a spinal nerve are:
a. astrocytes
b. ependymal cells
c. microglia
d. oligodendrocytes
e. Schwann cells
**This question relates to the discussion of glial cells in Part 8A, but also directly concerns the
spinal cord.
9. White matter in the spinal cord contains:
a. dendrites
b. myelinated axons
c. neuron cell bodies
d. unmyelinated axons
e. both b and d
**This question relates to the discussion of neural tissue in Part 8A, but also directly concerns
the spinal cord.
1. b
2. c
3. e
4. b
5. e
6. e
7. c
8. e
9. e