The environment
Francesco E. Marino in Human Fatigue, 2019
Although there is consensus that SBC exists in some species, there is no such consensus that humans possess a carotid rete. However, the lack of a carotid rete does not rule out SBC as there are many species in which this has been shown without the availability of this structure. Therefore, if SBC was a viable mechanism for thermoregulation and for protection of the brain from thermal injury, what structures would need to be available for this to occur? This has been addressed in a landmark paper detailing the concept of a ‘radiator’ for the human head (Zenker & Kubik 1996). The suggestion is that there are large vessels which penetrate the emissary foramina in the skull where an avenue for heat exchange between venous blood and heat loss through evaporation on the surface of the head can take place. These veins provide an avenue for conductive heat loss between the larger veins in the neck and the arteries entering the brain.
Nervous system
David Sturgeon in Introduction to Anatomy and Physiology for Healthcare Students, 2018
The peripheral nervous system refers to the nerves of the body that are not part of the brain and spinal cord (CNS). For example, 31 pairs of spinal nerves emerge from the spinal cord and relay information to/from a particular region on the left or right side of the body. The first pair of spinal nerves originate above C1 which is why there are eight cervical nerves and only seven cervical vertebrae. The thoracic, lumber and sacral nerves number the same as the corresponding vertebrae (e.g. 12, 5 and 5) and there is one pair of coccygeal nerves. In addition to the spinal nerves, there are also 12 cranial nerves that emerge directly from the brain and brainstem via a series of bony canals and small holes (foramina) in the skull. They are generally named according to their structure or function (Table 12.1) and a number of mnemonics have been devised to help students remember their order, function and whether or not they are motor nerves, sensory nerves or both.
Introduction
John W. Scadding, Nicholas A. Losseff in Clinical Neurology, 2011
The visual system spans the whole of the head from the front to back and so is commonly involved by intracranial lesions (Figure 1.1). The mechanisms controlling eye movements range from the cortex through the brainstem and external ocular nerves to the eye muscles themselves. Consequently, ocular motor function is frequently damaged by intracranial lesions. A detailed anatomical knowledge of the visual and ocular motor pathways is essential. So, too, is an understanding of the individual cranial nerves in the brainstem, their course through the basal cisterns and exits through the foramina in the skull (Figure 1.6), and their course and distribution to their extracranial target organs.
Twelve tips for teaching neuroanatomy, from the medical students’ perspective
Published in Medical Teacher, 2023
Sanskrithi Sravanam, Chloë Jacklin, Eoghan McNelis, Kwan Wai Fung, Lucy Xu
Drawing diagrams is a popular method (Hernández-Torrano et al. 2017) for students to consolidate their knowledge base and could be particularly useful for learning and visualising the complexities of the nervous system (Figures 1 and 2). The act of copying an image, annotating it and subsequently studying their own diagram of the neuroanatomy reinforces their understanding (Backhouse et al. 2017). Indeed, sketching anatomy whilst simultaneously learning in a lecture has been shown to make the learning experience easier and faster (Noorafshan et al. 2014). Starting with colour coding the lobes of the brain and progressing to detailing the foramina of the skull base and other more complicated anatomical structures in multiple orientations should enable the student to visualise the nervous system in 3 dimensions. Ultimately, we feel students should have concise and aesthetic images in their notes that illustrate clinically relevant pathways and should spark their memory at a glance (Figures 3 and 4). What’s more, students’ drawings could reveal the gaps in their current understanding of neuroanatomy and neurophysiology. Medical educators could then address and discuss those misunderstandings with students in more depth, thereby improving their knowledge (Slominski et al. 2017).
Related Knowledge Centers
- Apical Foramen
- Foramen
- Skull
- Vein
- Vertebral Column
- Artery
- Cranial Nerves
- Body
- Base of Skull
- Foramen Ovale