Spinal Cord and Spinal Nerves: In a Nutshell (Nursing)

00:00 So to wrap up this lecture, the spinal cord is the anatomical structure found in the vertebral canal that extends from the foramen magnum of the skull to the L2 vertebrae.

00:14 The spinal cord has three major layers of protection, including the vertebrae itself, the connective tissue meninges, and the cerebrospibnal fluid that it is suspended in.

00:27 The spinal cord is made up of white matter which contains sensory and motor tracts and the grey matter which is important for integration of sensory impulses.

00:41 Extending from the spinal cord, we have 31 pairs of spinal nerves.

00:47 The spinal nerves are attached to the spinal cord at the posterior and anterior roots also known as rami.

00:57 These can further branch and two networks with neighboring rami to form plexuses.

01:04 The function of the spinal cord is to process reflexes, integrate EPSPs and IPSPs and conduct sensory and motor impulses.

01:16 Spinal reflexes are those fast involuntary, unplanned responses to stimuli used to help maintain homeostasis.

01:28 Reflex arcs contains a sensory stimulus, sensory neurons, association neurons and in some cases, motor neurons and effectors.

01:43 Reflex arcs can be ipsilateral where the sensory neuron and the motor neuron both go in and leave from the same side contralateral where they go in and leave from opposite sides, monosynaptic where the sensory neuron is going to synapse directly with the motor neuron, polysynaptic where there's going to be the association neurin between the sensory and the motor neurin and they can involve reciprocal innervation where the agonistic muscle will contract while the antagonistic muscle will relax.

01:59 monosynaptic where the sensory neuron is going to synapse directly with the motor neuron, Polysynaptic in which there's going to be an association neuron between the sensory and the motor neuron and they can involve reciprocal innervation where the agonistic muscle will contract while the antagonistic muscle will relax.

02:25 And finally, homeostatic imbalances of the spinal cord and the spinal nerve physiology can lead to spinal cord inuries such as paralysis, degenerative diseases and also different types of palsy.

02:41 And that concludes our lecture on the spinal cord and the spinal nerves.

02:46 Thank you for watching