Bio 201 Lab 9

1. Describe the functional anatomy of the spinal cord using the following terms: white matter, gray matter, tracts, roots, and spinal nerves.

5. The cell body of the neuron, responsible for maintaining the life of the cell and containing the mitochondria is the soma.

The nervous system is made up of basic units called neurons. The main role of the neurons is to receive, integrate and transmit information throughout the body. There are some neuroglial cells found in nervous system aswell which provide support to the neurons by giving protection and nourishment Neurons have nerve processes that looks like finger like projections extended from the nerve cell body. They also contain axons and dendrites which enable them to transmit signals throughout the body. Normally, axon carry signals away from the cell body and dendrites carry signals toward the cell body according to Regina Bailey (2013). Neurons have three different shapes: bipolar, unipolar and multipolar where bipolar has two neuronal processes coming out of the cell body, unipolar has only one neuronal process coming out of the cell body and multipolar has many neuronal processes coming out of the cell body.

Describe the anatomy of the neuron and the ways that neurons communicate with each other.

The central nervous system (CNS) comprises grey matter, which contains neuron cell bodies and white matter, which contains the nerve axons. Most of the nerve axons are concentrically wrapped around by lipid-rich biological membrane, known as the myelin sheath. In the CNS, myelin is produced by oligodendrocyte. a type of glial cell. (Pfeiffer et al., 1993). These electrical insulating, multilamellar membranes significantly increase the electrical resistance, in which to prevent leakage of electrical currents from the axons, as well as decrease electrical capacitance to reduce the ability of the axons to store electrical energy (Shivane &

Axons that decussate between the pyramids of the medulla oblongata belong to the ________ tracts.

Everything we do is a product of neural communication, whether that be reacting to senses or feeling emotions, it is all due to us having neural communication through millions of neurons passing small electrical signals throughout the body through such pathways as the central nervous system and the peripheral nervous system and passing information to and from the brain. These ‘’neurons’’ are made up of Dendrites which are connected to a cell body, or also known as the soma, these are tree-like feathery filament ‘’message receivers’’ that collect these messages from other neurons it is connected to, neurons are connected through a dendrite to axon terminal connections and pass these ‘’messages’’ through the body as action potentials.

4. A tract in the spinal cord would most likely be found in the white matter.

* The soma, or cell body, contains the cell nucleus and much of the chemical machinery common to most cells.

Myofibrils are made up of long proteins that include myosin, titin, and actin while other proteins bind them together. These proteins are arranged into thin and thick filaments that are repetitive along the myofibril in sectors known as sarcomeres. The sliding of actin and myosin filaments along each other is when the muscle is contracting. Dark A-bands and light I-bands reappear along myofibrils. The alignment of myofibrils causes an appearance of the cell to look banded or striated. A myofibril is made up of lots of sarcomeres. As the sarcomeres contract individually the muscle cells and myofibrils shorten in length. The longitudinal section of skeletal muscle exhibits a unique pattern of alternating light and dark bands. The dark staining, A-bands possess a pale region in the middle called the H-zone. In the middle of the H-zone the M-line is found, that displays filamentous structures that can join the thick filaments. The light-staining bands also known as I-bands are divided by thin Z-line. These striated patterns appear because of the presence of myofibrils in the sarcoplasm (IUPUI, 2016).

Axons are nerves that connects the brain, spinal cord, muscles, and sensory cells all together

2. (6 pts) Turn your head to the right. (Create a table* that describes which muscles move which bones across which joints under the control of which nerves)

One extension is different from all the others, and is called the axon. Although in some neurons, it is hard to distinguish from the dendrites, in others it is easily distinguished by its length. The purpose of the axon is to transmit an electro-chemical signal to other neurons, sometimes over a

Information conveyed by the synapses on the dendrites is processed and projected from the axon. The axon is extraordinary, it is specialized for signal conduction to the next neuron. Axons vary in length, the ones in your brain are relatively short in comparison to the axons that run from your spinal cord down to your foot (about a meter long).

This lab involves the examination of cutaneous receptors. There are four exercises. For this lab, report your observations in a formal report, according to the formatting prescribed in Lab Report Format.doc which is found on Blackboard under Assignments/Before You Begin.