Introduction

NEU257

Mammalian Neuroanatomy

•Introductions

•Structure of the course

• Course website

• Course structure

• Textbook

• Examinations

•Goals of course

• Two faces of neuroanatomy (space vs stuff in the space)

•Anatomy as organizational framework

•Anatomy as experimental discipline

Basic Mammalian Neuroanatomy Orientation

Maryann Martone, Ph. D.

1/6/09

Organization of the Nervous System

•CNS

•Brain

•Spinal cord

•PNS

•Somatic

•Autonomic

•Sympathetic

•Parasympathetic

•Enteric

•Gut motility and secretion

Directions

MedialLateralLateral

Direction Terms in Neuroanatomy

Rostral-Caudal: “Towards the beak and towards the tail”

Anterior-Posterior: “Towards the front and towards the back”

Dorsal-Ventral: “Towards the back or upper surface and towards the front or lower surface”

Superior-Inferior: “Towards the top and towards the bottom”

Medial-Lateral: “Towards the midline and away from the midline”

Proximal-Distal: “Towards the point of origin and away from the point of origin”

Afferent-Efferent: “Towards a center vs away from a center

Planes of Section

Coronal = frontal in human

Gray Matter Vs White Matter

Terms:

•Cortex vs Subcortical nuclei

•Nuclei vs Ganglia

Nissl vs Myelin Stain

Development of the Nervous System

Divisions of the Brain

The Ventricles

http://brainmuseum.org

Gyrus, Sulcus, Fissure

•Hemisphere: one of two regions of the brain defined by the medial plane (sometimes)

•Ipsilateral (same side)•Contralateral (opposite side)

Brainstem: Medulla, Pons, Midbrain

Cerebrum: Brain, left and right hemispheres + white matter; cerebral cortex

Cerebellum

Sylvian Fissure

Corpus Callosum

Callosum (L): hard, tough

Commissure vs decussation

More Gross Anatomy Terms

Subdivisions of white matter:

Fasciculus: L: bundle•bundle of nerve fibers (Wordnet)

Funiculus: L: cord•bundle of nerve fibers

Lemniscus: L: ribbon•ribbon-shaped bundle of nerve fibers

Peduncle: L: stalk•bundle of nerve fibers

Tract: group of axons

Brain names•Brain nomenclature has evolved over 100’s if not 1000’s of years

•It reflects a confusing set of conventions, some useful and some not, and often erroneously or narrowly applied, including:

•Quasi-evolutionary terms: neo-, paleo-, archi-

•Developmental: Telencephalon, diencephalon, mesencephalon

•Functional: Motor cortex, sensory cortex, occulomotor nerve

•Directional: Dorsal funiculus, Dorsal-medial nucleus

•Descriptive (usually in Latin or Greek): amygdala, hippocampus, substantia nigra, substantia innominata, vagus nerve

•Proper names: Edinger-Westphal nucleus (Ludwig Edinger and Friedrich Otto Westphal);

•Many structures have multiple names and many anatomical concepts are poorly specified, inconsistently used or partially overlapping

•Brain nomenclature continues to befuddle neuroscientists and non-neuroscientists alike and has been a major impediment to neuroinformatics efforts

•“Space and stuff in the space”