Assignment #10

By: Hansser Concepcion

Nervous System

• The nervous system is your body's command center.

• Originating from your brain, it controls your movements, thoughts and
automatic responses to the world around you.
• It also controls other body systems and processes, such as digestion,
breathing and sexual development (puberty).
• It is a highly complex part of the anatomy that coordinates its actions and
sensory information by transmitting signals to and from different parts of the
body.
Peripheral Nervous System
The 4 main functions of the nervous system are:
• Reception of general sensory information (touch, pressure,
temperature, pain, vibration)
• Receiving and perceiving special sensations (taste, smell, vision,
sounds)
• Integration of sensory information from different parts of the body
and processing them
• Response generation

These major functions can again be divided into two major categories.
• Somatic functions, which people can control voluntarily, such as
blinking of the eyelids
• Autonomic functions, which people cannot control, such as the
beating of the heart
Motor Division

• The efferent or motor division transmits impulses from the CNS out to the
peripheral organs to cause an effect or action.
• The efferent or motor division is again subdivided into the somatic nervous
system and the autonomic nervous system.
• The somatic nervous system (SNS) which is responsible for voluntary motor
responses
• The autonomic nervous system (ANS) which is responsible for involuntary
motor responses.
 Histology of Nerve
Tissue
• Nervous tissue is composed of two types of cells, neurons and glial
cells.
• Neurons are the primary type of cell that most anyone associates with
the nervous system.
• They are responsible for the computation and communication that the
nervous system provides.
• The CNS has a characteristic tissue arrangement called grey matter
and white matter.
• Grey matter contains the cell bodies (perikarya) of neurons and the
supporting cells (neuroglia) as well as unmyelinated dendrites.
• White matter does not contain any cell bodies, but mostly contains
myelinated nerve fibers.
Supporting Cells

• Nervous tissue also includes cells that do not transmit

impulses, but instead support the activities of the
neurons.
• These are the glial cells (neuroglial cells), together
termed the neuroglia.
• Supporting, or glia, cells bind neurons together and
insulate the neurons.
 • Astrocytes are a population of cells with
distinctive morphological and functional
characteristics that differ within specific areas of
the brain.
• Postnatally, astrocyte progenitors migrate to
Astrocytes reach their brain area and related properties.
• Astrocytes are the most numerous cell type
within the central nervous system (CNS) and
perform a variety of tasks, from axon guidance
and synaptic support, to the control of the blood
brain barrier and blood flow.
Microglial Cells

• Microglial cells are a specialized population of

macrophages that are found in the central nervous
system (CNS). They remove damaged neurons and
infections and are important for maintaining the health
of the CNS.
• Similar to membrane vesicles released by most cells,
MVs shed from the surface of microglia contain various
bioactive molecules which modulate neuron
functionality and influence the activity of surrounding
non-neuronal cells.
 Ependymal Cells
• They are ciliated-epithelial glial cells that develop
from radial glia along the surface of the ventricles
of the brain and the spinal canal.
• They play a critical role in cerebrospinal fluid
(CSF) homeostasis, brain metabolism, and the
clearance of waste from the brain
• Their apical surfaces are covered in a layer of cilia,
which circulate CSF around the CNS.
• Their apical surfaces are also covered with
microvilli, which absorb CSF.
 Oligodendrocytes

• Oligodendrocytes are specialized glial cells that wrap themselves

around neurons present in the CNS.
• Oligodendrocytes are primarily responsible for maintenance and
generation of the myelin sheath that surrounds axons.
• They also participate in axonal regulation and the sculpting of higher
order neuronal circuits 
• are a type of neuroglia whose main functions are to provide support
and insulation to axons in the central nervous system of some
vertebrates, equivalent to the function performed by Schwann cells
in the peripheral nervous system.
Schwann Cells
• Schwann cells (SCs) are the major glial cell type in the peripheral nervous system.
They play essential roles in the development, maintenance, function, and
regeneration of peripheral nerves. In the mature nervous system, SCs can be
categorized into two major classes: myelinating and non-myelinating cells.
• These cells are equivalent to a type of neuroglia called oligodendrocytes, which
occur in the central nervous system.
• Schwann cells differentiate from cells of the neural crest during embryonic
development, and they are stimulated to proliferate by some constituent of the
axonal surface. 
Neurons
• Neurons (also called neurones or nerve cells) are the fundamental units of the brain and nervous
system, the cells responsible for:
• receiving sensory input from the external world,
• for sending motor commands to our muscles,
• and for transforming and relaying the electrical signals at every step in between.
• While neurons have a lot in common with other types of cells, they're structurally and
functionally unique.
• Specialized projections called axons allow neurons to transmit electrical and chemical signals to
other cells.
Neurons
Axons
• An axon is a thin fiber that extends from a neuron, or nerve
cell, and is responsible for transmitting electrical signals to
help with sensory perception and movement.
• Each axon is surrounded by a myelin sheath, a fatty layer
that insulates the axon and helps it transmit signals over
long distances.
• also called nerve fiber, portion of a nerve cell (neuron) that
carries nerve impulses away from the cell body.
• A neuron typically has one axon that connects it with other
neurons or with muscle or gland cells.
Division of the Central Nervous System
• The nervous system has two main parts
• The central nervous system is made up of the
brain and spinal cord.
• The peripheral nervous system is made up of
nerves that branch off from the spinal cord
and extend to all parts of the body.
• The brain is contained within the cranial cavity of
the skull, and the spinal cord is contained within
the vertebral cavity of the vertebral column.
• The peripheral nervous system is so named
because it is on the periphery
Brain Stem
• The brain stem is the posterior stalk-like part of the brain that connects the cerebrum with
the spinal cord.
• In the human brain the brain stem is composed of the midbrain, the pons, and the medulla
oblongata.
• Your brain stem is the bottom part of your brain.
• It looks like a stalk that connects the rest of your brain to your spinal cord.
• Your brain stem sends signals from your brain to the rest of your body.
• It controls many subconscious body functions, like breathing and maintaining your heart
rate.
Brain Stem
• The brainstem is a sort of automatic control center for several
important involuntary actions of the body, such as heartbeat,
breathing, blood pressure, and many reflexes.
• In the human brain the brainstem is composed of the midbrain,
the pons, and the medulla oblongata.
• The brainstem is very small, making up around only 2.6
percent of the brain's total weight.
•  It also provides the main motor and sensory nerve supply to
the face and neck via the cranial nerves.
• Ten pairs of cranial nerves come from the brain stem.
• Other roles include the regulation of the central nervous
system and the body's sleep cycle.
• It is also of prime importance in the conveyance of motor and
sensory pathways from the rest of the brain to the body, and
from the body back to the brain.
 Cerebellum
• The cerebellum (which is Latin for “little brain”)
is a major structure of the hindbrain that is located
near the brain stem.
• This part of the brain is responsible for
coordinating voluntary movements.
• It is also responsible for several functions including
motor skills such as balance, coordination, and
posture.
• Most movements are composed of several different
muscle groups acting together in a temporally
coordinated fashion.
• One major function of the cerebellum is
to coordinate the timing and force of these different
muscle groups to produce fluid limb or body
movements.
Cerebral Hemispheres
• One half of the cerebrum, the part of the brain that controls muscle
functions and controls speech, thought, emotions, reading, writing, and
learning.
• The right hemisphere controls the muscles on the left side of the body,
and the left hemisphere controls the muscles on the right side of the
body.
• In general, the left hemisphere controls speech, comprehension,
arithmetic, and writing. 
• The right hemisphere controls creativity, spatial ability, artistic, and
musical skills.
• The cerebrum is divided into the left and right hemispheres by a
deep longitudinal fissure; the two hemispheres remain in contact and
communication with one another by the corpus callosum.
• Each hemisphere further subdivides into a frontal, parietal, occipital,
and temporal lobe.
Thank you!