Anatomy & Physiology                                                       summer 05

The Nervous System

Instructions: Please read each section/question carefully. Answer questions in complete sentences, and if/when you need to cite outside materials, please use footnotes. All work is to be typed, and may be submitted either by email or in class. This assignment is due no later than midnight Thursday July 28th. NO LATE PAPERS ACCEPTED.
 
 

Short Answer:

  1. Define: Sulcus      --       Gyri    --       Plasticity

What do such features of the brain represent in terms of function?

2.      What subdivisions of the peripheral nervous system control voluntary actions?  Involuntary actions?

 

3. Discuss the ventricles: where are they located, their function and how they interconnect. What cells are associated with them, and what are these cells functions?

4. When entering a dark room on a sunny day, why does it take some time to see in the dark room?

5. Zak’s mom always told him to wait an hour after eating before swimming. Zak thought this was silly advice. Explain to Zak how physiologically sound this advice really is.

 

6. Damage to the facial and/or glossopharyngeal nerves will interfere with which special sense?

 

7. What is the clinical significance of the dermatomes?

 

8. What is the largest nerve arising from the lumbar plexus?

 

9. Compare the size and location of the cerebrum and cerebellum

 

10. As you help put eye drops in your 5-year-old nephew’s eyes, the child grimaces and says, “ That medicine tastes bad.”  How do you explain how the child can ‘taste’ the eye drops.

 

Case Study A

A boxer is hit in the jaw very hard, his head and therefore his medulla and reticular activating system are twisted sharply.

Q1:  What is the reticular activating system [RAS]?   Describe its function.

Q2: Why might this result in a knockout in which the boxer loses consciousness?

Q3: If the medulla were injured from the twisting, what other possible ramifications should the trainer watch for?

 

Case Study B

Janelle was riding a motorcycle, when it was side swiped by a large pickup truck. She was thrown and landed hard about 30 feet from impact, sustaining quite a few broken bones. As her injuries healed, subsequent exams found some muscular problems.

Q1: For each of the following, state what nerve is damaged:

Unable to flex the leg [at hip]

Unable to adduct the thigh

Q2: She also has some sensory damage. For each of the following indicate which nerve is damaged:

Loss of sensation from the skin of the lateral thigh

Loss of sensation from the skin of the lateral lower leg and foot

 

Case Study C

While Freda was wading barefoot in a tide pool at the beach, her left big toe was painfully stimulated by the pinch of a large crab.

Q1: Describe the pathways that brought the sensory information to the brain. Acknowledge each structure the neuron passed through in the CNS.

Q2: There are two pain pathways. Identify them and explain how both would function in Freda’s situation.

Q3: How would you explain the fact that some serious injuries, such as those produced by a bullet entering the abdomen, may be relatively painless, but others, such as those that Freda experience that involve crushing of the skin, may produce considerable discomfort?

Case Study D

Ima Student went to see an otolaryngologist because she had difficulty hearing. A week previously she had a sinus infection and sore throat, but apparently that condition had resolved. After performing numerous tests, the doctor explained that she had a middle ear infection with an accumulation of fluid and that it was the result of the sinus infection and sore throat.

Q1: How would fluid in the middle ear reduce the ability to perceive sound?

Q2: Explain how a sore throat and sinus infection can result in a middle ear infection.

Case Study E

Joe Salesman spots Max come into the auto showroom. He nonchalantly walks up and says ‘Hi’. After chatting for a few minutes and surveying Max’s face, Joe shows him a few cars. Joe notices that Max’s pupils have dilated, and he knows that Max is very interested in the model they are standing in front of.

Q1: How did Max’s pupils give him away? Which portion of the nervous system is ‘on’?

Case Study F

Gina stumbled during her floor exercise during the gymnastics competition, but she was able to recover her balance.

Q1: Identify the main sensory receptors responsible for equilibrium. [PNS & CNS]

Q2: Identify the specific regions of her brain that work in maintaining her balance.

 

LABS:

Write an introduction that indicates what labs were performed over the past 2 weeks.  Choose one of the labs, and comment on what you learned and how this has helped you in processing information concerning the nervous system.   Relate it to an  ‘everyday’ situation and/or how you might be able to apply this knowledge?