Neuroscience/Neuroanatomy
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[edit] Introduction
The human nervous system (neurological system) consists of the central nervous system (CNS) and the peripheral nervous system (PNS). The CNS is made up of the human brain and the spinal cord. The PNS is basically all those nerves outside the CNS, that allow the CNS to communicate with the various organ systems. The PNS can be subdivided into the somatic and autonomic nervous systems. (The former allows voluntary actions and allows one to perceive all sorts of sensation e.g. the classic five senses and to deliberately move a body part. The latter permits mainly subconscious actions and sensations e.g. to control breathing.)
The brain is the center of the central nervous system in humans and the primary control center for the peripheral nervous system.
The brain controls "lower", unconscious activities such as heartbeat, respiration, and digestion - these are known as autonomic functions. The brain also controls "higher" order, conscious activities, such as thought, reasoning, and abstraction. The human brain is more capable of these higher order activities than any other species' brain.
The adult brain weighs 1500g and is encased by the skull. The brain is artificially divided into the forebrain (cerebrum or two cerebral hemispheres) and the much smaller hindbrain. The cerebrum consists of a superficial part (the 4 cerebral lobes: frontal, parietal, temporal and occipital) and a deep part (the thalamus, the various basal ganglia, the internal capsule, and the ventricular system). The hindbrain consists of the cerebellum and the brain stem, the latter consisting, from top to bottom, of midbrain, pons, and medulla oblongata. The medulla is directly continuous with the spinal cord. The big difference in size between the brains of humans and other mammals is mainly due to the size of the four lobes of the forebrain, which makes these areas the natural place to look for the location of the so-called cognitive functions and memory. The other parts of the brain either serve as conduits for signals (white matter tracts) or regulate (grey matter nuclei) the various subconscious activities common to all mammals. Some examples of these vegetative functions are the heart rate and blood pressure, breathing, satiety and digestion, sleeping and wakefullness, hormone production, posture, and reflexes.
- REDIRECT:[1] Surviving Clinical Neuroanatomy - an unauthorized illustrated clinical guidebook for medical students - by Henry David Nava Dimaano, MD, FPOA (UP Psych '89 - '94 / UP Medicine Class '99)
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