What is white matter of the spinal cord composed of?
myelinated
White matter is composed of bundles of myelinated nerve cell processes (or axons). The axons connect various grey matter areas (the locations of nerve cell bodies) of the brain to each other and carry nerve impulses between neurons.
What is white matter mostly composed of?
White matter areas of the brain mainly consist of myelinated axons, which are long relays that extend out from the soma, and which are whiteish in color due to the relatively high lipid fat content of the myelin protein that sheathes them, These form connections between brain cells, and white matter is typically …
What part of the spinal cord has the most white matter?
cervical levels
The amount of white matter is greatest at cervical levels and least at sacral levels. This is because ascending and descending fibers from and to all levels must pass through the cervical cord.
What is white matter in the spinal cord called?
White matter in the spinal cord is sometimes called superficial tissue because it is located in the outer regions of the brain and spinal cord. Most doctors talk about the “tracts” that make up white matter. These are various pathways through which nerve signals are sent down axons.
What is the white matter of the spinal cord composed of quizlet?
The white matter of the spinal cord is composed of myelinated and nonmyelinated nerve fibers that allow communication between different parts of the spinal cord and between the cord and brain.
Why is white matter in the spinal cord white?
The white matter is white because of the fatty substance (myelin) that surrounds the nerve fibers (axons). This myelin is found in almost all long nerve fibers, and acts as an electrical insulation.
Why is white matter on outside of spinal cord?
The type of fat in myelin makes it look white, so myelin-dense white matter takes on a white hue as well. The spinal cord, which transmits nerve impulses to and from the rest of the body, has the opposite arrangement: gray matter at its core with insulating white matter on the outside.
What forms the white matter of the spinal cord quizlet?
What is white matter made of quizlet?
What is white matter? White matter is composed of bundles of myelinated axons, which connect various gray matter areas of the brain to each other, and carry nerve impulses between neurons.
Where is the white matter in the spinal cord quizlet?
White matter in the spinal cord makes up the external portion, and is myelinated. It is partitioned into three funiculus: posterior funiculus lies between the grey horns of the posterior side of the cord and the posterior median sulcus.
What cells make the white matter of the spinal cord white quizlet?
Myelin is a fatty substance that covers some axons. It appears white under a microscope and is often referred to as white matter. The 2 types of cells are oligodendrocytes, which are found in the brain and spinal cord, and Schwann cells which are outside the brain and spinal cord.
What does white matter in the brain and spinal cord consist of?
White matter disease is the wearing away of tissue in the largest and deepest part of your brain due to aging. This tissue contains millions of nerve fibers, or axons, that connect other parts of the brain and spinal cord and signal your nerves to talk to one another.
What are the White Columns of the spinal cord?
Spinal Cord White Matter – Anatomy & Functions Several columns of myelinated axons surround the gray matter of the spinal cord. The lipid in the myelin makes the columns appear light in color (white matter). The columns are referred to as the dorsal funiculus (or posterior funiculus), lateral funiculus, and ventral funiculus (or anterior funiculus).
What does the spinal cord contain?
The spinal cord, like the brain, consists of two kinds of nervous tissue called gray and white matter. Gray matter has a relatively dull color because it contains little myelin . It contains the somas, dendrites, and proximal parts of the axons of neurons.
What is the cross section of the spinal cord?
Spinal Cord Segments – Cross-sectional Anatomy. The spinal cord is made up of 31 segments. Each segment gives rise to a pair of spinal nerves. In cross-section (c.s.), the segments appear to be divided into two zones. The outer zone contains many myelinated axons that run up and down the spinal cord. Myelin is mostly lipid and light in color.