Gross Anatomy of the Nervous System
Rostral toward the nose Caudal toward the tail Dorsal toward the back Ventral toward the belly Medial toward the midline Lateral away from the midline Proximal near a point of reference Distal distant from a point of reference Directional Terms
Afferent projecting toward Efferent projecting away from Ipsilateral on the same side Contralateral on the opposite side Directional Terms
Planes of Section Coronal or frontal perpendicular to the neuraxis perpendicular to ground apply only to brain Sagittal parallel to neuraxis perpendicular to ground midsagittal = axis of symmetry Horizontal parallel to ground parallel to neuraxis applies only to brain Transverse perpendicular to neuraxis applies to brain and spinal cord Oblique any section not in a standard plane
CNS = brain and spinal cord PNS = ganglia and nerves outside of CNS
(7) (12) (5) (2)
(intermediate gray)
C1-C8 T1-T12 S1-S5 L1-L5 Coxxygial
A. Cervical spinal cord B. Thoracic spinal cord C. Lumbar spinal cord D. Lumbo-sacral spinal cord
Autonomic Nervous System (ANS) Sympathetic division (arousal) Parasympathetic division (maintenance)
Prosencephalon = diencephalon + telencephalon Mesencephalon = tegmentum + tectum Rhombencephalon = metencephalon (pons, + cerebellum) + myelencephalon (medulla)