SGD 15 October 2019

5.3 Physiology of Nervous System

4. Describe about the structure and function of neuron!
Neurons, also known as nerve cells, send and receive signals from your brain. While
neurons have a lot in common with other types of cells, they’re structurally and functionally
unique. Specialized projections called axons allow neurons to transmit electrical and chemical
signals to other cells. Neurons can also receive these signals via root-like extensions known as
dendrites. Unlike other cells, neurons don’t reproduce or regenerate. They aren’t replaced once
they die. The creation of new nerve cells is called neurogenesis.
Parts of a neuron
Neurons vary in size, shape, and structure depending on their role and location. However, nearly
all neurons have three essential parts: a cell body, an axon, and dendrites.
Cell body
Also known as a soma, the cell body is the neuron’s core. The cell body carries genetic
information, maintains the neuron’s structure, and provides energy to drive activities.
Like other cell bodies, a neuron’s soma contains a nucleus and specialized organelles. It’s
enclosed by a membrane which both protects it and allows it to interact with its immediate
surroundings.
Axon
An axon is a long, tail-like structure which joins the cell body at a specialized junction called the
axon hillock. Many axons are insulated with a fatty substance called myelin. Myelin helps axons
to conduct an electrical signal. Neurons generally have one main axon.
Dendrites
Dendrites are fibrous roots that branch out from the cell body. Like antennae, dendrites receive
and process signals from the axons of other neurons. Neurons can have more than one set of
dendrites, known as dendritic trees. How many they have generally depends on their role.
For instance, Purkinje cells are a special type of neuron found in the cerebellum. These cells
have highly developed dendritic trees which allow them to receive thousands of signals.
Function of neurons
Neurons send signals using action potentials. An action potential is a shift in the neuron’s electric
potential caused by the flow of ions in and out of the neural membrane.
Action potentials can trigger both chemical and electrical synapses.
Chemical synapses
In a chemical synapse, action potentials affect other neurons via a gap between neurons called a
synapse. Synapses consist of a presynaptic ending, a synaptic cleft, and a postsynaptic ending.
When an action potential is generated, it’s carried along the axon to a presynaptic ending. This
triggers the release of chemical messengers called neurotransmitters. These molecules cross the
synaptic cleft and bind to receptors in the postsynaptic ending of a dendrite.
Neurotransmitters can excite the postsynaptic neuron, causing it to generate an action potential of
its own. Alternatively, they can inhibit the postsynaptic neuron, in which case it doesn’t generate
an action potential.
Electrical synapses
Electrical synapses can only excite. They occur when two neurons are connected via a gap
junction. This gap is much smaller than a synapse, and includes ion channels which facilitate the
direct transmission of a positive electrical signal. As a result, electrical synapses are much faster
than chemical synapses. However, the signal diminishes from one neuron to the next, making
them less effective at transmitting.
5. Explain about neural electrical activity! Action Potential, resting membrane potential (neuron),
depolarization, repolarization, hyperpolarization!
An action potential is a rapid rise and subsequent fall in voltage or membrane potential across a
cellular membrane with a characteristic pattern. Sufficient current is required to initiate a voltage
response in a cell membrane; if the current is insufficient to depolarize the membrane to the
threshold level, an action potential will not fire. Examples of cells that signal via action
potentials are neurons and muscle cells.
1. Stimulus starts the rapid change in voltage or action potential. In patch-clamp mode, sufficient
current must be administered to the cell in order to raise the voltage above the threshold voltage
to start membrane depolarization.
2. Depolarization is caused by a rapid rise in membrane potential opening of sodium channels in
the cellular membrane, resulting in a large influx of sodium ions.
3. Membrane Repolarization results from rapid sodium channel inactivation as well as a large
efflux of potassium ions resulting from activated potassium channels.
4. Hyperpolarization is a lowered membrane potential caused by the efflux of potassium ions and
closing of the potassium channels.
5. Resting state is when membrane potential returns to the resting voltage that occurred before the
stimulus occurred.
The beginning of an impulse is called depolarization. When this event occurs, the sodium
channel is opened and sodium ions rushes towards the cell. The influx of positive charges shifts
the electric potential of the membrane which causes the outside is negative and the inside is
positive and causes the channel to close. Repolarization will now occur and causes the potassium
channel to open. Then potassium ions rushes out and this event will start to repolarize the cell
and cause the cell to be more negative, and the outside is more positive.
6. Describe the role of a synapse in nervous tissue! Explain the process of synaptic transmission
in nervous system!
The function of the synapse is to transfer electric activity (information) from one cell to
another. The transfer can be from nerve to nerve (neuro-neuro), or nerve to muscle (neuro-myo).
5.4 Special Sense
4. Could listen the music with an earphone makes deafness? Please explain about your
answer!
Yes, listening to music with an earphone could makes deafness when the noise level or
loudness of the music is too loud + in a long time. Also can occur when the person using
the earphone in a wrong way (too deep), with loud noise level + in a long time. Our hearing
organs have its own noise level in ergonomics.

5. Explain why your sense of smell is reduced when you have a cold, even though the cold
virus does not directly adversely affect the olfactory receptor cells.
When someone have a cold, mucus-producing is increasing. The olfactory receptor cells
located near the nasal cavity, which in this case nasal cavity with a lot of mucus. The mucus
is blocking the olfactory receptor cells from the stimulus.
6. Patients with certain nerve disorders are unable to feel pain. Why is this disadvantageous?
This can be disadvantageous because God created us with special senses (especially that
5 senses) for a reason. When we can’t feel pain, it’s hard to realize that we are in danger,
such as; nail spikes, stepped on pieces of broken glass, etc.

Self-assessment
7. Explain how to measure visual acuity!
Snellen chart, E chart, landolt ring.
Assessment of Visual Acuity: This can be done with either a standard Snellen hanging wall
chart read with the patient standing at a distance of 20 feet. Each eye is tested independently
(one eye is covered while the other is used to read). The patient should be allowed to wear
their glasses and the results are referred to as "Best corrected vision." You do not need to
assess their ability to read every line on the chart. If they have no complaints, rapidly skip
down to the smaller characters. The numbers at the end of the line provide an indication of
the patient's acuity compared with normal subjects. The larger the denominator, the worse
the acuity. 20/200, for example, means that they can see at 20 feet what a normal individual
can at 200 feet (i.e. their vision is pretty lousy). If the patient is unable to read any of the
lines, indicative of a big problem if this was a new complaint, a gross estimate of what they
are capable of seeing should be determined (e.g. ability to detect light, motion or number
of fingers placed in front of them).
8. Cutting which of the following leads to total blindness in the right eye: optic chiasm, left optic
tract, right optic tract, right optic nerve, left optic nerve?
 From the following picture, we can conclude that defected or damaged right optic nerve
can lead to total blindness in the right eye.
9. A ballerina spins to the right. When she suddenly stops spinning, which way will her eyes
move?
Her eyes will move to the left because of VOR or vestibule-ocular reflex. The VOR is a
reflex mediated by the vestibular system that functions to keeps the eyes centered during head
positioning. Generally, the eyes are set in a forward gaze position due to the balanced input from
both the left and right vestibular systems. This forward gaze position is maintained even when a
person is not focusing on a visual target. The right and left vestibular systems are modified to
quickly respond to any adjustment or movement of the head in relation to the body. For example,
if a person turns his/her head to the side without fixing their eyes on a target, their eyes will remain
centers in the primary gaze position. This is a result of the vestibulo-ocular reflex (VOR).

5.5 Anatomy Spinal Nerve and Reflex

1. Based on your anatomical scope, why the patient has total loss of sensation in membrum
inferius, but not in the membrum superius one?
Loss of sensation in membrum inferius or lower limb indicate that the patient has injury
in the spinal cord that supply the dermatome in lower limb. A dermatome is the area of the skin
of the human anatomy that is mainly supplied by branches of a single spinal sensory nerve root.
The sensory part is supplied by the posterior nerve root, from L1 – L5. The membrum superius is
supplied by the cervical and thoracic nerve.
2. You should observed the pathological reflex, but you also should knew the physiological one.
In the case, you found the damage of LMN. What is the characteristic of LMN syndrome?
Motor system dysfunction can result from damage or disease at any level of the motor system
hierarchy and side-loops. Differences in the symptoms that result from damage at different levels
allow the clinician to localize where in the hierarchy the damage is likely to be. Damage to alpha
motor neurons results in a characteristic set of symptoms called the lower motor neuron syndrome
(lower motor neurons refer to alpha motor neurons in the spinal cord and brain stem; all motor
system neurons higher in the hierarchy are referred to as upper motor neurons). This damage
usually arises from certain diseases that selectively affect alpha motor neurons (such as polio) or
from localized lesions near the spinal cord. Lower motor neuron syndrome is characterized by the
following symptoms:
1. The effects can be limited to small groups of muscles. Restricted damage to lower motor
neurons, either within the spinal cord or at the ventral roots, will affect only a restricted
group of muscles.
2. Muscle atrophy. When alpha motor neurons die, the muscle fibers that they innervate
become deprived of necessary trophic factors and eventually the muscle itself atrophies.
3. Weakness. Because of the damage to alpha motor neurons and the atrophy of muscles,
weakness is profound in lower motor neuron disorders.
4. Fasciculation. Damaged alpha motor neurons can produce spontaneous action potentials.
These spikes cause the muscle fibers that are part of that neuron’s motor unit to fire,
resulting in a visible twitch (called a fasciculation) of the affected muscle.

5. Fibrillation. With further degeneration of the alpha motor neuron, only remnants of the
axons near the muscle fibers remain. These individual axon fibers can also generate
spontaneous action potentials; however, these action potentials will only cause individual
muscle fibers to contract. This spontaneous twitching of individual muscle fibers is called
a fibrillation (Fig. 1). Fibrillations are too small to be seen as a visible muscle contraction.
They can only be detected with electrophysiological recordings of the muscle activity (an
electromyogram).
 6. Hypotonia. Because alpha motor neurons are the only way to stimulate extrafusal muscle
fibers, the loss of these neurons causes a decrease in muscle tone.
7. Hyporeflexia. The myotatic (stretch) reflex is weak or absent with lower motor neuron
disorders, because the alpha motor neurons that cause muscle contraction are damaged.

3. What do you think about the intersegmental reflex and suprasegmental reflex that occurred in
this case?
suprasegmental reflex – disorganized walk,
intersegmental reflex - seizure, could not receive any sensation like thermal and soft or rough
touching in the membrum inferius.

4. If the additional case occurred similarly in the membrum superius and inferius, which the
segmental area of spinal cord had damaged? Please explain how does it can be!

T1-T4 (membrum superius) and L1-L5+sacral (membrum inferius)

This condition may appear because the patient had stroke attack and he becomes unconscious,
and he fell to the ground and hit the ground in sit position (lumbar receive overpressure).

5. How to relate the dermatome and nervi spinales?

A dermatome is an area of skin that is mainly supplied by afferent nerve fibers from a single dorsal root
of spinal nerve which forms a part of a spinal nerve.
5.6 Anatomy Cranial Nerves and Autonomic Nervous System
1. Please mention all the hole that located on the basis cranii?

2. Please mention which cranial nerves that had couple functions as parasympathetic nerve?
● Oculomotor (III)
● Facial (VII)
● Glossopharyngeal (IX)
● Vagus (X)

3. Based on number 2, which the hole passed through by them?

● The Oculomotor nerve pass through the Superior Orbital Fissure
● The Facial nerve pass through the Internal Acoustic Meatus
 ● The Glossopharyngeal nerve pass through the Jugular foramen
● The Vagus nerve pass through the Jugular foramen

4. What kind of the reflex shown by n. craniles III, V, IX?

● N. Craniles III >> General Somatic Efferent (GSE) for the extrunsic muscle of the eyes
and the General Visceral Efferent (GVE) for the intrinsic muscle of the eyes.
● N. Craniles V >> GSE for the Exteroceptive Selaput Lendir and the Proporioceptive from
the muscles of the head. Special Visceral Efferent (SVE) and the General Somatic
Afferent (GSA) for the Branchiogenic muscle.
 ● N. Craniles IX >>

5. Please mention which n. craniales that have the biggest and which of them that have the
longest one?
- The Vagus Nerve is the longest cranial nerve
- The Trigeminal Nerve is the biggest cranial nerve, as it is consisted of three major
branches: the ophthalmic nerve, the maxillary nerve, and the mandibular nerve.

5.7 Histology of Nervous Tissue

2. Explain the type of neuron and its location on the body!
  Anaxonic neuron is type of neuron that have no axons and multiple dendrites. This type
of neuron can be found in the interneuron (type of neuron that connected sensory and
motoric neuron) of retina.
 Bipolar neuron is type of neuron that have two process consist of dendrites and terminal
of axon, going away from the body (soma). This type of neuron are really rare that only
be found in olfactory ephitelium, ganglia of vestibulocochlear nerve, and retina.
 Pseudounipolar neuron is type of neuron that have one process elongated from body cell
and make two branch into dendrites and terminal of axon. This type of neuron are
commonly be found majorly in sensory neuron
 Multipolar neuron is the commonly type of neuron that can be found in motor neuron that
consist of multiple dendrites in the cell body and one axon that going away from the cell
body.

3. Describe the type, structure, and function of neuroglia!

Beside neuron work as functional unit of nervous system, neuroglia also work essentially as
supporting unit for the neuron. Based on their location, there are neuroglia that located in CNS
(Central Nervous System) and PNS (Peripheral Nervous System) that contain many kinds of
neuroglia and various function of them.
I. CNS ; there are 4 types of neuroglia in CNS, which is :
 Ependymal cell is type of neuroglia that lines the ventricels of brain and central
canal of spinal cord and produce cerebrospinal fluid that cushions the neuron
(shock absorber).
 Astrocyte is type of neuroglia that provides nutrition from the capiler to the
neuron, maintain structural support, and involved in formation of a Blood-Brain
Barrier (barrier for giving tight control over substance moving from blood into
tissue of CNS).
 Obligodendrocytes is type of neuroglia that form myelin sheath into the axon that
located in CNS.
 Microglial cells is type of neuroglia that fagocyte dead cell (act like immune cell)
II. PNS ; there are 2 types of neuroglia in PNS, which is :
 Schwann cells is type of neuroglia that have similar function with
obligodendrocyte in CNS which is producing myelin sheath for covering the axon
in PNS.
 Satelite cells is type of neuroglia that covers the cell body (ganglia) and provide a
protective barrier of the cell body.

4. Explain the microscopic structure of cerebrum, cerebellum, and spinal cord!

a. Cerebrum

A. Gray matter : consist of many cell bodies, dendrytes and glial cells
Consist of 6 layer :
I. Molecular layer : less nerve cells can be seen in this layer
II. External granular layer : numerous small, dense packed of nerve cells
III. External pyramidal layer : medium sized pyramidal nerve cells
IV. Inner granular layer : irregular shape of nerve cells
V. Inner pyramidal layer (ganglionic layer) : large pyramidal nerve cells
VI. Multiform layer : fusiform shaped of nerve cells can be seen here

White matter : contains of

mylenated axon and oligodendrocytes
that produce the myelin sheath and some
of cell bodies
b. Cerebellum

Consist of:
I. Gray matter ; there are 3 layer of it, which is :
I. Granular layer : contain small, dark nucleated granule cells that synapse with
afferent nerve
II. Ganglionic layer : contain numerous of purkinje cells that only constitute motor
coordination (efferent nerve)
III. Molecular layer : contain numerous thin axons
II. White matter is as same as the white matter in the cerebrum

c. Spinal cord
5. Describe the microscopic structure of peripheral nervous system!
6.1 Anatomy of Urinary System
1. Identify the kidneys and to know their position in the abdomen

The kidneys are bilateral bean-shaped organs, reddish-brown in colour and located in the
posterior abdomen. Their main function is to filter and excrete waste products from the blood.

They are also responsible for water and electrolyte balance in the body. Metabolic waste and
excess electrolytes are excreted by the kidneys to form urine. The kidneys
lie retroperitoneally (behind the peritoneum) in the abdomen, either side of the vertebral
column. They typically extend from T12 to L3, although the right kidney is often situated
slightly lower due to the presence of the liver. Each kidney is approximately three vertebrae in
length. The adrenal glands sit immediately superior to the kidneys within a separate envelope
of the renal fascia.

2. Identify the anatomical structures which can be seen in sagittal section of the kidney
 Medulla
Cortex

Renal pelvis

3. Identify the ureters and trace their course to the pelvis

The ureters are two thick tubes which act to transport urine from the kidney to the
bladder.The ureter is about 25-30 cm long and is in the retroperineal spatium which has
three constriction. (1) at the junction of the ureters and renal pelves, (2) where the ureters
cross the brim of the pelvic inlet, and (3) during their passages through the wall of urinary
bladder. These constricted areas are potential sites of obstruction by kidney stones.
The ureters arise in the abdomen as a continuation of the renal pelvis, and terminate in the
pelvic cavity – where they empty into the bladder. The anatomical course of the ureters can
therefore be divided into abdominal and pelvic components.
a. Abdominal Part
The ureters arise from the renal pelvis – a funnel like structure located within the hilum
of the kidney. The renal pelvis receives urine from the major calyces. The point at
which the renal pelvis narrows to form the ureter is known as the ureteropelvic junction.
After arising from the ureteropelvic junction, the ureters descend through the abdomen,
along the anterior surface of the psoas major. Here, the ureters are
a retroperitoneal structure (located behind the peritoneum). At the area of
the sacroiliac joints, the ureters cross the pelvic brim, thus entering the pelvic
cavity. At this point, they also cross the bifurcation of the common iliac arteries.
b. Pelvic Part
 Once within the pelvic cavity, the ureters travel down the lateral pelvic walls. At the
level of the ischial spines, they turn anteromedially, moving in a transverse plane
towards the bladder. Upon reaching the bladder wall, the ureters pierce its lateral aspect
in an oblique manner. This creates a one way valve, where high intramural pressure
collapses the ureters – preventing the back-flow of urine.

4. Identify the urinary bladder in specimens and models

QUESTIONS!!!!!!!
1. Define neurogenesis, what does it mean when neurons couldn’t even regenerate (karena
gaada ribosom di badan cell untuk transfer protein gitu gitu)