A&P and Me: The Love-Hate Relationship

Monday, April 11, 2011

McClure Quiz 2 4/13/11

Aha! Finally getting around to another study guide. Her questions have become better and I need a change of pace from just reading the notes.
Also, will post what I currently have but will take it down, finish the questions tomorrow, and repost.

31. Describe the lobes and ligament of the liver.
Four lobes: left, right, caudate and quadrate (just like in lab...).
Falciform ligament divides right and left lobes, and circle lig. used to be the umbilical cord.

32. Explain the structure anatomically anchors the liver to the stomach.
The lesser omentum!

33. Describe the anatomical relationship between the liver and the gallbladder.
Gallbladder sits directly underneath liver and is connected most directly via the common bile duct.

34. Describe the microscopic structure of the liver? Name the components of portal
triads.
Lobules are the functional units- hexagon in shape, connected by central veins, and made up of smaller hepatocytes.

35. Describe the functions of hepatocytes.
Process nutrients, store fatty vitamins, detoxify the blood, and produce bile

36. Describe the duct system transporting bile.
Gathered from lobules, filtered down to gallbladder via bile ducts (part of the portal triad), secreted into duodenum, reabsorbed in ileum, gathered in hepatic portal system and returned to liver.

37. Describe the compositions and functions of bile.
Made of bile salts (breaking down fats), bilirubin, neutral fats, phospholipids and electrolytes.
Green-yellow color and basic (alkaline) in nature.
Used mainly for breaking down fat.

38. Explain the chemical and neural regulations of bile release, and list the functions
of cholecystokinin.
Refer to q41

39. List the exocrine functions of pancreas.
Acini secrete the pancreatic juices and zymogen granules (found within the acini) release digestive enzymes.

40. Describe the composition of pancreatic juice. Explain the functions of trypsinogen
and procarboxypeptidase in digestion.
It is a watery solution that is slightly basic (for neutralizing chyme). Also full of electrolytes, mainly bicarbonate (HCO3-), and a variety of enzymes like amylase, lipase, nuclease, and the inactive form of protease.

Trypsinogen, procarboxypeptidase, and chymotropsinogen are all proteases and activated in the duodenum by trypsin, which is naturally located on the walls there.

41. Describe the chemical and neural regulation of pancreatic secretion.
There are a few different ways it is activated. It starts with either a buildup of bile salts in the enterohepatic circulation, or cell exposure to fatty chyme and HCl in the duodenum.
Next once these intestinal cells, specifically cholecystokinin, have been exposed to proteins and fat in chyme it causes the hepatopancreatic sphincter to relax and secrete juices. Pressure in this area also produces minor vagal nerve stimulation which does nearly the same thing.
CCK -> enzyme-rich pancreatic juice
Secretin (not a mispelling!) -> bicarbonate-rich pancreatic juice
Vagal nerve -> minor pancreatic juice release

42. Name different divisions of small intestine.
Stomach -> Duodenum -> Jejunum -> Ileum -> Cecum

43. Define plicae, villi and microvilli.
Plicae- a fold or ridge of tissue
Villi- finger-like projections increasing surface area
Microvilli- same as villi just smaller

44. List the cells found in the epithelium of the mucosa in small intestine. Describe
the stimuli which trigger and release of intestinal juice from intestinal glands.
Sorry, not going to cover this- ha! Not covered much in notes and a lot of this is covered in other questions anyways I believe.

45. Describe how chyme is digested in the small intestine.
Chyme is release to the small intestines in a hypertonic solution. This solution needs a variety of enzymes, bicarbonate, and bile to break it down. A constant mixing due to peristalsis and segmentation ensure the chyme and chemicals interact.

46. Describe the neural control of mobility of the small intestine. Explain the roles of
gastroileal reflex and gastrin.
Neurons in the intestines coordinate with the brain to move things along. Nerves controlled by acetylcholine can also stimulate these muscles that move chyme along.
As chyme travels along the small intestine these muscle reflexes become stronger, which is known as the gastroileal reflex. The chemical gastrin further increases the strength of this muscle reflex.
A strong reflex is needed to push the chyme into the large intestines.

Wednesday, February 2, 2011

Midterm Today!

Sorry everyone who reads this (lol), but there is no post going into this test. Hopefully everyone has been reviewing on their own.
McClure's questions for this last section really sucked, so I pretty much just ignored them and committed most of the information to memory.
Not only that but I have been conducting an experiment: I am attempting to see if skipping lecture is detrimental to my grade, since her lectures are almost identical to the slides that she practically reads off anyways.
Didn't mean to start my experiment on the midterm week, but I have been studying intensely the past few days so it should go well.
Good luck!

Tuesday, January 25, 2011

McClure's Third Quiz 1/26/11

Well, nobody said they minded me doing this at the last minute so, ha! I will.
Also, her questions are totally and completely out of order from how they appear in the chapters.
Which is very frustrating.

24. Define motor, sensory and interneuron.
Motor means from brain to muscle, telling the body to move. Sensory means from body to brain, picking up signals and sending them there. Interneurons are everything in between that relay this info.

25. Describe gross anatomy and function of spinal cord; identify and explain the role
of the following structures: cervical enlargement, lumbar enlargement, conus
medularis, cauda equina, filum terminale and denticulate ligaments.
The ventral fissure and dorsal sulcus divide the spine in half.
Cervical enlargement- serves the nerves of arms
Lumbar enlargement- serves the nerves of legs
Conus medularis- end of the spine
Cauda equina- the final collection of nerve roots at end of spine
Filum terminale- anchors spine to the coccyx
Denticulate ligaments- extensions of pia mater that secure cord to dura mater

26. Describe the gross anatomy of spinal nerves and their roots.

27. Identify gray and white matter of a spinal cord. Name three zones that compose
gray matter. What kinds of neurons are found in posterior, lateral, and anterior
horns?
Gray matter is found in the middle X of spinal cord. White matter surrounds this.
Three zones: no idea really. Hope it's obvious.
Posterior horns: sensory axons found here; senses both internal organs and outside senses
Lateral horns: only found in chest and neck; these relay sympathetic signals
Anterior horns: also known as ventral; these relay motor movement signals to both skeletal and autonomic muscles

28. Explain the composition and organization of the white matter in the spinal cord.
Name and describe the fiber tracts, explain their functions.

29. List the four regions of the spinal cord and spinal nerves associated with these
regions. Define and explain the significance of dermatome.

30. Explain the function of ascending (somatosensory) pathways, give examples.

31. For the somatosensory pathways listed below, give their alternative names,
explain their function, follow their paths from the receptor to the cortex:
 Nonspecific ascending pathway
   Not really sure which ones would be nonspecific since we know the names and locations of all.
 Specific ascending pathway
   Dorsal column-Medial Lemniscal pathways can tell the difference between types of feeling from hands (cuneatus) and feet (gracilis).
   Spinothalamic pathways also relay sensory information including pain, temperature, and coarse touch.
 Spinocerebellar pathway
   Measures the stretch of tendons and ligaments to help us maintain balance, which is the duty of the cerebellum. This pathway is unique because it does not go to the thalamus (terminates directly into cerebellum).

32. Explain the difference between the sensation and perception. How is the
sensation from the visceral organs represented in the cortex? Explain the term
referred pain.
From what I understand sensation is the collection of stimuli, whereas perception is the interpretation of those stimuli.
Visceral organs do not have any way to express pain themselves, so they send signals along nervous pathways to other, external areas that relay pain there instead. This can make it difficult to diagnose what is wrong inside.
Pain is simply an uncomfortable feeling we (generally) want to get away from.

33. Explain the function of descending pathways, give examples. List two types of
somatic motor pathways and follow their paths.
Direct pathways control our fine motor movements like writing and playing sports.
Indirect pathways also control motor movement, but the finer ones that don't require our whole attention like following something/movement with our eyes or head.

34. Apply your knowledge of spinal cord anatomy to predict the symptoms resulting
from spinal cord transsection at different levels.
Pretty much anything from a severed area down will be paralyzed. Waist down is a paraplegic, and neck down is quadriplegic.

35. Explain how the CNS is protected. List three meningeal layers in the order from
superficial to deep.
Protected by bone, membranes (specifically meninges), watery cushion of SCF, and the blood brain barrier.
First is the dura mater, then the arachnoid mater, followed by the pia mater.

36. List two layers of dura mater. Identify on a diagram the structures formed by dura
mater.
Periostial (outer) and meningeal (inner).
Forms the falx cerebri (longitudinal fissure), falx cerebelli (vermis or bum crack of cerebellum), and tantorium cerebelli (between cerebellum and rest of brain).

37. Describe arachnoid mater and pia mater. Identify epidural, subdural, and
subarachnoid spaces and explain their significance.
Arachnoid is a web-like layer that contains CSF and blood vessels (mainly in subarachnoid space). Can also reabsorb stray CSF
Pia- delicate vascular connective tissue that hugs brain tightly.
Epidural space in spine contains veins and fat that protects spine.

38. Describe the ventricular system of the brain and its role in CSF production and
circulation.

39. Explain the function of CSF. Describe its production, circulation and removal.
What is the normal composition of CSF and the changes observed with
inflammation?
CSF is used for buoyancy in the CNS, protecting the brain from trauma, as well as providing nourishment and relaying chemical (not electrical) signals.
It is produced in the choroid plexus of each ventricle.
Composed of glucose, oxygen, vitamins and ions.

40. Define blood-brain barrier. Explain its function. What is the nature of substances
it is effective against? What areas are not protected by the blood-brain barrier and
why?
Provides stable environment in brain and separates neurons from blood-borne substances.
Allows fat-soluble substances across (including alcohol, nicotine, anesthetics), meaning that anything else is not allowed in.
The vomiting center and hypothalamus are not protected by the barrier because they need to be able to test the blood regularly.

Tuesday, January 18, 2011

McClure's Second Quiz 1/18/11

Alright, so let's admit it, I'm terrible at getting these done earlier in the week allowing for more study time, but since I'm not sure anyone is reading this anyway then I'll try not to worry about it... until someone yells at me in the hallway...

18. List the components and functions of limbic system. Explain how it interacts with
the cerebral cortex.
Components won't be tested on so ha! These are mostly covered in question 19 though.
It is functionally strongly tied to our emotions. How we interpret and store emotions come from here.
The interpretation is an active process that filters how we perceive everything, adding emotional tags to our current stimuli and making us aware of the "emotional richness" in our lives.

19. Describe the location and function of cingulate gyrus, amygdala, and
hippocampus. Compare and give examples of two categories of memory. Which
one has short-term and long-term components? List strategies proven effective to
convert short-term into long-term memory. What brain regions are involved in
skill and fact memory? Describe mechanism of new memory formation.
Cingulate- helps us recognize gestures and faces
Amygdala- processes fear/anger primarily among other emotions
Hippo- important in converting new memories into long-term ones
Two categories of memory-
   Sorry, I don't have this info at the moment.
   This is actually covered later in the chapter that she has not yet reached, so not going to worry about it too much. Just a little past the part about sleep gives some info about memory.

20. List two components of reticular formation. What are their roles?
The three nuclei associated are the raphe, medial group, and lateral group.
They are there to filter out weak stimuli (roughly 99% of all stimuli).
Cerebral cortex also helps by keeping us conscious and alert by continuously pulsing our brain.
All members associated are the hypothalamus, thalamus, cerebral cortex, cerebellum, and spinal cord.

21. Define consciousness. List clinical levels of consciousness.
Consciousness is mainly measured by perception/sensation, voluntary movement, and higher mental processes. A person can be alert, drowsy ("lethargic"), in a stupor, or in a coma (which is also marked by a decrease in oxygen intake).

22. Explain how the brain waves are generated and recorded. Describe different
types of brainwaves. What are the changes observed in epilepsy?
Brain waves come from electric activities. Electroencephalographs (EEGs) track this electric activity.
Four types of brainwaves:
   1. Alpha- relaxed and conscious, "idling"
   2. Beta- alert, mentally active
   3. Theta- seen in children, more irregular brain pattern
   4. Delta- typically indicates deep sleep, may also show brain damage
Epilepsy results in uncontrollable muscle movement and jerking, can also cause loss of consciousness. Caused by a mishap in brain chemistry/electric impulses.

23. Name two stages of sleep and explain physiological changes observed during
these stages. What are the roles of ascending reticular activating system and locus
coeruleus in regulation of motor and sensory activity during sleep?
Rapid Eye Movement (REM) and Non-Rapid Eye Movement (NREM) make up the different parts of sleep. REM is the light sleep experienced first before a person enters the deep sleep of NREM. A person will go between the two throughout a nights sleep, generally going through the NREM during the first half of the night and then slowly come back up through the four stages towards wakefulness as the time to wake up approaches.
During REM a person is more prone to waking, dreams, and is paralyzed by the body's own mechanisms.
NREM is considered the restorative part of sleep, and is generally harder to wake a person from. Brain is in power-down mode.

Wednesday, January 12, 2011

1st McClure Test

So I am now in McClure's lecture! If it is drastically different from McVay let me know.

1. Name components of central and peripheral nervous system. Compare
compositions and functions of gray and white matter. Define the following terms:
nucleus, ganglion, nerve, and nerve tract. Explain the general structure of brain
and the spinal cord.
CNS- brain and spinal chord
PNS- everything else...
Gray- unmyelinated fiber tracts; used for neuronal processing
White- myelinated fiber tracts; carries information through the brain
Nucleus- a brain structure consisting of a relatively compact cluster of neurons
Ganglion- a cluster of axons found outside of the CNS
Nerve- any bundle of nerve fibers running to various organs and tissues of the body
Nerve Tract- a cluster of axons found inside of the CNS

2. Define the term cephalization-
an evolutionary trend, whereby nervous tissue, over many generations, becomes concentrated toward one end of an organism. This process eventually produces a head region with sensory organs.

3. Briefly describe embryonic development of the brain: name and identify main
components of forebrain, midbrain, and hindbrain.
Forms from ectoderm, neural plate invaginates and seals on dorsal side eventually becoming the neural tube.
The top of this neural tube becomes the forebrain (telencephalon and diencephelon), mesenephelon (undivided midbrain), and hindbrain (metencephelon and myelencephelon).

4. Identify five lobes of cerebral hemispheres. Define the terms basal nuclei, cortex,
gyrus, sulcus, and fissure.
Five Lobes: Frontal, parietal, occipital, temporal, and that one in the middle underneath the temporal...
The basal ganglia (or basal nuclei) are a group of nuclei of varied origin (mostly telencephalic embryonal origin, with some diencephalic and mesencephalic elements) in the brains of vertebrates that act as a cohesive functional unit. They are situated at the base of the forebrain and strongly connected with the cerebral cortex, thalamus and other brain areas. The basal ganglia are associated with a variety of functions, including voluntary motor control, procedural learning relating to routine behaviors or "habits," eye movements, and cognitive,^[1] emotional functions.
Cortex- the tissue forming the outer layer of an organ or structure in plant or animal
Gyrus- brain ridge
Sulcus- the valleys of the brain
Fissure- crevice: a long narrow depression in a surface

5. Explain hemisphere dominance and lateralization. Give examples of functions
performed by the cortex of only right hemisphere and only left hemisphere. Name
brain structures that connect two hemispheres. Explain the function of motor,
sensory, and association cerebral corteses.
Dominance- whatever side of the brain takes over most of the time
Lateralization- brain doing different things but working together
Right- insight, visual-spatial skills, intuition, artistic skills (creativity)
Left- language, math , logic (logic is a good word here)
Brain structures-

Motor-
Sensory-
Association-

6. Identify the location and explain the functions of primary (somatic) motor cortex,
premotor cortex, Broca’s area, and frontal eye field. What does motor
homunculus represent?
PMC- anterior to central sulcus; conscious movement
PC- anterior to PMS; learned motor skills, sequential action
Broca's- one side (dominant) above temporal; speech
FEF- anterior PC; voluntary eye movement
Homunculus- shows number of neurons/ability of fine control

7. Identify the location and explain the function of primary somatosensory cortex.
Compare primary corteses with association corteses for the following areas:
somatosensory, visual, auditory, olfactory, gustatory, and vestibular. Explain the
difference between the sensation and perception.

8. Identify the location and explain the function of the following association areas of
the cerebral cortex; anterior association area, posterior association area and limbic
association area.
All are centered around the temporal lobe, but do stretch up to the parietal and back to the occipital.
Anterior- intellect, cognition, personality, recall, working memory (judgement, conscience), and develops from environmental feedback
Posterior- recognizing patterns and faces, localizes us in space, and understanding language (written and spoken)
Limbic- establishes memories by associating emotions

9. Name three types of fibers found in CNS and explain their function.
Commissures- connect the two brain hemispheres together
Association fibers- connect different parts within the same hemisphere
Projection fibers- connect the hemispheres with the spinal cord and associated areas

10. What are basal nuclei? Name and identify their components. What is the
function of basal nuclei?
They are "subcortical nuclei." A group of nuclei in the brains of vertebrates, situated at the base of the forebrain.
Consists of caudate and lentiform nuclei.
Function include muscle control, preventing unnecessary action, assist with cognition, and fine-tune learned movements.

11. Name three parts of diencephalon. Identify them on anterior, lateral, and
posterior views of the brain.
Three parts: thalamus, hypothalamus, and epithalamus.

12. Explain the role of thalamus in sensory pathways.
Thalamus sorts information and mediates most of what comes into the brain in one way or another.

13. List and identify the components of hypothalamus. What is its function?
Hypothalamus controls autonomic functions and emotions. Auto: body temp, food and water intake/balance, sleep, controls hormones released by anterior pituitary, and produces posterior pituitary hormones.

14. List and identify the components of epithalamus. What is its function?
Epithalamus contains pineal gland, which produces melatonin (sleep cycle). Found on dorsal side of thalamus.

15. Name the three components of the brainstem and explain their function. Explain
its relation to the ventricular system of the brain.
Three components: Midbrain, pons, and medulla oblongata.
Supports and surrounds the ventricular system.

16. Explain the function of the following parts of the midbrain: cerebral peduncles,
superior and inferior colliculi of corpora quadrigemina, substantia nigra, and red
nucleus. List the cranial nerves associated with midbrain, pons, and medulla
oblongata.
Cerebral peduncle- contain pyramidal motor tracts
Superior colliculi of corpora- visual reflex center
Inferior colliculi of corpora- auditory relay center
Substantia nigra- linked to basal nuclei in function; also produces dopamine
Red nucleus- relay for some descending motor pathways
Cranial nerves associated- trigeminal V, abducens VI, and facial VII

17. Review the gross anatomy of cerebellum. Explain the role of cerebellum in motor
coordination and cognition.
Fine-tunes muscle contractions. All fibers are ipsilateral. Three paired fibers connect to rest of brain.
Initiates voluntary muscle contraction, informs body of position and momentum, calculates smoothest muscle contractions, and sends "blueprints" of coordinated movements out.
Recognizes and predicts the outcome of complex movement. Assists with word association and puzzle solving.

Monday, December 6, 2010

Specific Neurotransmitters

Acetylcholine
Chemical Structure: an ester of acetic acid and choline ("cholinergic")
Place of Action: Both CNS and PNS; only transmitter used in motor movement; important nervous transmitter
Main Effects of Postsynaptic Neurons: excites muscles; assists our brain and nervous action
Disorders (Too Much/Little): memory loss (Alzheimer), and muscle fatigue/weakness (myasthenia gravis)

Norepinephrine

Chemical Structure: Adrenergic

Place of Action: sugar stores (in all cells),

Main Effects of Postsynaptic Neurons: increased heart rate

Disorders (Too Much/Little):

Dopamine

Chemical Structure:

Place of Action: