Download Slide ()

The directions used in the nervous system. The rostral direction is toward the nose and caudal is toward the tail. In the head of a person standing, rostral
and anterior are roughly the same direction, and caudal and posterior are the same for the cerebral cortex. However, as the brainstem forms and
descends into the spinal cord, the meaning of rostral and caudal shifts. In the brainstem, rostral would be closer to the cerebrum and caudal would be
closer to the spinal cord. Within the spinal cord, rostral would be toward the brainstem and caudal would be toward the coccygeal segments. In the person
standing, for the spinal cord, rostral and superior are the same, and caudal and inferior are the same. The other directions used in the nervous system are
dorsal, toward the back, and ventral, toward the front. The ventral side of the nervous system is the anterior part of the brainstem and spinal cord and the
Source: Introduction to Neuroanatomy, Neurologic Rehabilitation: Neuroscience and Neuroplasticity in Physical Therapy Practice
inferior part of the cerebrum. The dorsal part is the superior part of the cerebrum and the posterior part of the brainstem and spinal cord. Medial and lateral
Nichols-Larsen
DS,the
Kegelmeyer
DA, Buford
AD,
Heathcock
JC, (Adapted
Basso D. with
Neurologic
Rehabilitation:
Neuroscience
and JH,
directions in Citation:
the nervous
system have
same meaning
as in JA,
the Kloos
regular
cardinal
planes.
permission
from Kandel
ER, Schwartz
Neuroplasticity
in
Physical
Therapy
Practice;
2016
Available
at:
http://mhmedical.com/
Accessed:
May
10,
2017
Jessell TM, et al. Principles of Neural Science, 5th ed. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill; 2013.)
Copyright © 2017 McGraw-Hill Education. All rights reserved