Lecture Exam Study Guide for Lecture Exam 6
May 22, 2006
Multiple Choice Questions:
Brain
1. The anatomy of the major areas of the brain (cerebrum, cerebellum, pons, medulla
oblongata, brain stem, mid-brain, diencephalon) along with the names and locations of
the four ventricles.
2. The five lobes of the cerebrum (and which lobes come in pairs)
3. Which areas of the brain control/process basic functions (for example: heart rate,
respiration, blood pressure; temperature, endocrine activity, thirst; motor functions;
sensory functions; visual association; aural association; olfaction/smell; speech; memory;
cognitive functions)
4. The feature names (gyri, sulci, tracts, commissures, association fibers, projection fibers)
5. The difference between gray matter and white matter (including what cause the color to
be white or gray) and the distribution of each in the brain and spinal column
6. Anatomy of the meninges (pia mater, arachnoid, dura mater, and their relationship to
each other, as well as the cerebral spinal fluid and where it is formed)
Nerves
7. The 12 cranial nerves and what each innervates
8. Spinal nerve anatomy (root, rootlet, ganglia, etc.)
9. Sensory versus somatic nerve differences (dorsal vs. ventral root, afferent vs. efferent,
etc.)
10. The three types of nerves (sensory, motor, mixed) and which type is most common
11. The four major plexuses of the somatic nervous system (cervical, brachial, lumbar,
sacral), the spinal nerves where they originate, and the major nerves of each
12. The three levels sensory signals pass through from sense to cognition (sensory, circuit,
perceptual) and where the neuron cell bodies are for each level
Autonomic nervous system
13. Differences between the sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous systems (functional,
number of nerves in a typical pathway, lengths of preganglionic versus postganglionic
neurons, origin areas in the spinal column, etc.)
14. The sympathetic chain and chain ganglia, the anatomy (e.g. white and gray rami
communicans, etc.), the pathways followed, the three different ganglia synapse patterns
(same level, different level, collateral/outside the chain)
Special Senses
15. Structures and anatomy of the eye and the function of each structure: including both those
directly involved with vision and the accessory structures that move the eye, protect it,
keep it lubricated, etc.
16. Structures and anatomy of the ear and the function of each structure: be able to identify
which are involved in hearing and which in balance.
Essay Questions:
1. Explain why the central sulcus is an important surface landmark of the cerebral cortex:
what lobes it separates, what the gyri on either side are called, and the functional
significance each gyrus has. pg. 600-601
2. Explain how the sympathetic chain is organized: the path signals follow from the spinal
nerve to the sympathetic chain (trunk) ganglia (through the white rami communicans),
the three ways the preganglionic neurons synapse with postganglionic neurons, and the
path signals follow out of the chain ganglia (through the gray rami communicans). pg.
634-635, 638-640
3. List the three types of cerebral white matter tracts, describe the function of each, and give
an example of each. pg. 602
4. Explain why crying often results in a runny nose: including the structures that produce
the tears and that drain the tears from the eye. Pg. 676-677