University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Ho Chi Minh City

Faculty of Basic Sciences

Chapter 7
THE NERVOUS SYSTEM

Lecturer

Department of Foreign Languages

 OBJECTIVES
Upon completing this lesson, you will be able to
1. Identify definitions, explanations, exemplifications
related to the nervous system and a reflex
2. Locate the main ideas of the mentioned text
3. Summarize the main points of the mentioned text
4. Identify, memorize and produce expressions to
reassure anxious patients.
5. Identify the structure of an essay in academic
writing
6. Identify, divide and combine word parts in medical
terms related to the nervous system
 OUTLINE
1. Reading
Part A
Organization of the nervous system
The peripheral nervous system
Reflex
Part B
Parts of the brain
Parts of the spinal cord
Autonomic nervous system
 OUTLINE
2. Listening
Reassuring anxious parents
3. Speaking
Reassuring anxious parents
4. Writing
Essay structure
5. Medical Terminology
Roots pertaining to the nervous system and spinal cord
Roots pertaining to the brain
Suffixes pertaining to the nervous system
 READING 1
ORGANIZATION OF THE NERVOUS SYSTEM

VOCABULARY
Axon OF THE NERVOUS SYSTEM
Potassium
Brain Reflex decision
Cell body Sensory neuron
Dendrite Sensory organ
Electrical current Sensory receptor
Electrical signal Sodium
Motor neuron Spinal cord
Nerve Synapse
Neuron Synaptic end bulb
Neurotransmitter Vesicle
 READING 1
ORGANIZATION OF THE NERVOUS SYSTEM

OF THE NERVOUS SYSTEM

 READING 1
ORGANIZATION OF THE NERVOUS SYSTEM

OF THE NERVOUS SYSTEM

 READING 1
ORGANIZATION OF THE NERVOUS SYSTEM

OF THE NERVOUS SYSTEM

 READING 1
ORGANIZATION OF THE NERVOUS SYSTEM

Cells of the Nervous System

ORGANIZATION OF THE NERVOUS

SYSTEM
 READING 1
ORGANIZATION OF THE NERVOUS SYSTEM

ORGANIZATION OF THE NERVOUS

SYSTEM
 READING 1
ORGANIZATION OF THE NERVOUS SYSTEM

ORGANIZATION OF THE NERVOUS

SYSTEM
 READING 1
ORGANIZATION OF THE NERVOUS SYSTEM

How a Neuron Sends a Message

ORGANIZATION OF THE NERVOUS
SYSTEM
 READING 2
THE PERIPHERAL NERVOUS SYSTEM
VOCABULARY
Afferent nerve Mixed nerve
Approach Peripheral nervous
Cochlea system
Cranial nerve Rods and cones
Efferent nerve Spinal nerve
Exit Stimulus
Vestibular apparatus
 READING 2
THE PERIPHERAL NERVOUS SYSTEM
 READING 2
THE PERIPHERAL NERVOUS SYSTEM
 READING 2
THE PERIPHERAL NERVOUS SYSTEM
 READING 2
THE PERIPHERAL NERVOUS SYSTEM
 READING 3
REFLEX

The central nervous system (CNS) and the peripheral

nervous system (PNS) have different jobs to do.
The spinal cord is often in charge of making reflex
decisions
The brain differs from the spinal cord in function. The
brain is in charge of remembering information.
READING 3
REFLEX
 READING 3
REFLEX

A reflex. Sensory receptors in the

finger detect pain and heat. A
message is sent along to the
spinal cord, which decides to
send a message along a nerve to
the muscle that moves the hand
away from the fire.
 READING 4
PARTS OF THE BRAIN
VOCABULARY
Brain stem Midbrain
Cerebellum Occipital lobe
Cerebrum Parietal lobe
Diencephalon Pineal gland
Frontal lobe Pituitary gland
Grey matter Pons
Hypothalamus Reticular formation
Limbic system Temporal lobe
Medulla oblongata Thalamus
White matter
 READING 4
PARTS OF THE BRAIN
There are two large regions in the brain, the cerebrum and the
cerebellum.
The cerebrum is divided into separate areas called lobes. Each lobe in
the cerebrum has specific functions:
 The frontal lobe controls motor (skeletal muscle) activity.
 The temporal lobe is important in memory
 The parietal lobe interprets most of the sensory information that
comes from the skin and internal organs
 The occipital lobe is important in interpreting information that you see.
The other large region of the brain is the cerebellum. The
cerebellum is important in maintaining balance.
 READING 4
PARTS OF THE BRAIN
 READING 4
PARTS OF THE BRAIN
 READING 4
PARTS OF THE BRAIN
 READING 4
PARTS OF THE BRAIN
 READING 4
PARTS OF THE BRAIN
 READING 5
PARTS OF THE SPINAL CORD
VOCABULARY
Bony Neural message
Butterfly-shaped Paralyzed
region Reflex decision
Connective tissue Tough
Freeway White matter
Gray matter
Myelinated axon
 READING 5
PARTS OF THE SPINAL CORD

The spinal cord travels through central openings in the

vertebrae, with spinal nerves exiting through holes
 READING 5
PARTS OF THE SPINAL CORD
 READING 5
PARTS OF THE SPINAL CORD
 READING 5
PARTS OF THE SPINAL CORD
 READING 6
THE AUTONOMIC NERVOUS SYSTEM
VOCABULARY
“Fight or flight” situation
“Rest and digest” situation
Conscious decision
Involuntary response
Parasympathetic division
Reaction
Reflex response
Sympathetic division
 READING 6
THE AUTONOMIC NERVOUS SYSTEM
 READING 6
THE AUTONOMIC NERVOUS SYSTEM
 READING 6
THE AUTONOMIC NERVOUS SYSTEM
 READING 6
THE AUTONOMIC NERVOUS SYSTEM

Examples of SNS action on various

organs:

1. Eye: Dilates pupil

2. Heart: Increases rate and force of
contraction
3. Lungs: Dilates bronchioles
4. Blood Vessels: Constricts
5. Sweat Glands: Activates sweat
secretion
6. Digestive tract: Inhibits peristalsis
7. Kidney: Increases renin secretion
 LISTENING AND SPEAKING
REASSURING PATIENTS

When meeting an anxious patient for the first time, you

are most often faced with someone who has experienced
multiple episodes of insensitive treatment and has lost all
trust. They will pay too much attention to your words
and expressions to decide if you are different from all the
rest. The first few minutes are critical. Reassuring parents
with young children and babies in order to relieve anxiety
is really a challenge.
 LISTENING AND SPEAKING
REASSURING PATIENTS
Some tips to calm them down:

1. Greeting and meeting

2. Eye Contact

3. Reassuring your patient

4. Reducing the fear of the unknown

5. Being empathy or sympathy

6. Keep talking …

7. A gentle touch

8. Being honest and earning your patient’s trust

9. Using non-threatening (“euphemistic”) language

10. Tone of Voice

11. Being passionate about your work

12. Body language

 WRITING
ESSAY STRUCTURE
An essay is a piece of writing that is several paragraphs long.
An essay, just like a paragraph, is about one topic. Since its
topic is broad, the essay is divided into paragraphs, one for
each major point. To tie all the parts together, an introduction is
added to the beginning and a conclusion to the end. An essay
has three parts:

1. An introduction

2. A body (one or more paragraphs)

3. A conclusion
 WRITING
ESSAY STRUCTURE
The introduction has two parts: general statements
and a thesis statement
 WRITING
ESSAY STRUCTURE
The body of the essay consists of one or more paragraphs.
Each of these paragraphs has a topic sentence, supporting
sentences, and sometimes a concluding sentence.
The conclusion is the last paragraph of the essay. It
summarizes the main points discussed in the body or restates
the thesis in different words. It also leaves the reader with a
final comment or thought about the topic.
 Transitions or linking words are used to connect the
paragraphs. These are just like the transitions used in
paragraphs to connect ideas between sentences.
 WRITING
ESSAY STRUCTURE
 MEDICAL TERMINOLOGY
A. ROOTS PERTAINING TO THE NERVOUS SYSTEM AND SPINAL CORD

Root Meaning Example Definition of example

nervous system,
neur/o, harmful or poisonous to a nerve or
nervous tissue, neurotoxic
neur/i nervous tissue
nerve
gli/o neuroglia glioma a neuroglial tumor
gangli/o,
ganglion ganglionectomy surgical removal of a ganglion
ganglion/o
mening/o, hernia of the meninges through
meninges meningocele
meninge/o the skull or spinal column

spinal cord (also abnormal development of the

myel/o myelodysplasia
bone marrow) spinal cord

root of a spinal
radicul/o radiculopathy any disease of a spinal nerve
nerve
 MEDICAL TERMINOLOGY
B. ROOTS PERTANING TO THE BRAIN
Root Meaning Example Definition of example
encephalomalaci
encephal/o brain softening of brain tissue
a
cerebr/o cerebrum
decerebrate having no cerebral function
cerebr/o (loosely, brain)
cerebral cortex, pertaining to the cerebral cortex
cortic/o corticospinal
outer portion and spinal cord
cerebell/o cerebellum intracerebellar within the cerebellum
thalam/o thalamus thalamotomy incision of the thalamus
ventricul/o cavity, ventricle supraventricular above a ventricle
medulla
medull/o oblongata (also medullary pertaining to the medulla
spinal cord)
pertaining to the mind and body
psych/o mind psychosomatic
(soma)
 MEDICAL TERMINOLOGY
C. SUFFIXES PERTAINING TO THE NERVOUS SYSTEM

Root Meaning Example Definition of example

uttering words that are
-phasia speech heterophasia
different from those intended
compulsive use of obscene
-lalia speech, babble coprolalia
words (copro means “feces”)
-lexia reading dyslexia difficulty in reading
-plegia paralysis tetraplegia paralysis of all four limbs
partial paralysis of one side of
-paresis partial paralysis hemiparesis
the body
condition marked by sudden
-lepsy seizure narcolepsy
episodes of sleep
fear of being in a public place
persistent,
-phobia agoraphobia (from Greek agora, meaning
irrational fear
“marketplace”)
excited state, exaggerated self-importance;
-mania megalomania
obsession “delusions
 SUMMARY
1. Reading
- Definition, explanation and demonstration of the
organization of the nervous system, PNS, ANS
- Anatomy and physiology of CNS ( the brain and the
spinal cord)
- Definition, explanation and exemplification of a reflex
2. Listening - Speaking
- How to reassure anxious patients
3. Writing
- Identification of an essay structure
4. Medical Terminology
- Word parts pertaining to the nervous system
 REFERENCES

 Bradley, Robin A. English for Nursing and Healthcare: A

Course in General and Professional English. McGraw-Hill.
2008.

 Grice, Tony. Nursing 1. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

2007.

 McCarter, Sam. Medicine 1. Oxford: Oxford University

Press. 2009.

 Penn, Judy Meier & Hanson, Elizabeth. Anatomy and

Physiology for English language learners. Pearson
Education. 2006.
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