NERVOUS SYSTEM

Anatomy of a Nerve

More than ten thousand million nerve cells and their fibers (волокно, ткань), or axons, make up
the nervous system. The axons are grouped together in nerve trunks (нервный ствол) containing
sensory (чувствительные) fibers, which conduct information from the sensory organs to the central
nervous system, and motor (двигательные) fibers, which carry information to the central nervous
system of the body. The nerve fibers which carry information quickly are enclosed in a thick sheath
made of the fatty substance myelin. They are called myelinated nerve fibers. The myelinated sheath
(оболочка) has regular indentations along its length called the nodes of Ranvier (перехват Ранвье).
The nonmyelinated nerve fibers, which carry information slowly, are grouped together and enclosed in
a single sheath.

The anatomy of a nerve includes: the cell body (тело клетки), which is composed of cytoplasm
and contains the cell nucleus; the nucleus (ядро), which contains the information needed to control the
activity of the neuron; the dendrites, outgrowths (отросток) of the cell body to which and from which
they conduct impulses; the epineurium (эпиневрий), a fibrous sheath that surrounds the whole nerve;
the perineurium (периневрий), the connective tissue sheath that surrounds bundles of nerve fibers; the
endoneurium (эндоневрий), the fine sheath of connective tissue around each nerve bundle (узел); the
axon, the extended fiber of the nerve cell which carries impulses to and from the cell body; the fatty
myelin sheath (жировая миелиновая оболочка), the insulating coat (изолирующее покрытие) that
separates the axon in a nerve bundle; the Schwann cell nucleus, the mechanism responsible for the
production and maintenance of the myelin sheath and the Nodes of Ranvier, constrictions in the myelin
sheath.

Anatomy of the Central Nervous System

The nervous system is a complex network of nerve cells and nerve fibers spread throughout the
body. Its function is to interpret, store, and respond to information received from inside and outside.
The central nervous system or CNS, consists of the brain and spinal cord (спинной мозг) and is
responsible for processing information gathered from the rest of the nerves and transmitting
instructions to the body. Messages passing to and from the CNS are carried by the nerves of the
peripheral nervous system (периферическая нервная система). This system includes twelve pairs of
cranial nerves (черепные нервы) and thirty-one pairs of spinal nerves. The cranial nerves and the
spinal nerves control voluntary movements and sensations. The autonomic nervous system, consisting
of sympathetic and parasympathetic (симпатический и парасимпатический), nerve fibers controls
such involuntary (непроизвольный) body functions as the heartbeat.

The Regions of the Brain

The brain has three major functional and anatomical parts - the forebrain, midbrain and hindbrain.
The forebrain consists of the cerebral hemispheres (полушария головного мозга), thalami,
hypothalamus and limbic system (лимбическая система). The top inch of the brain stem is the
midbrain. The hindbrain includes the cerebellum (мозжечок), the pons (мост) and the medulla
(продолговатый мозг). Other parts of the brain's anatomy include: the cerebral cortex (кора), a thin
layer of nerve cells on the surface of the cerebral hemispheres; the cerebrum (головной мозг),
composed of many millions of nerve fibers, is covered by the cerebral cortex; the corpus callosum
(мозолистое тело), a C-shaped collection of fibers, forms a bridge between the left and right
hemispheres; the thalamus, which relays and receives messages to and from other areas of the brain;
the limbic system, concerned with memory and emotion; the cerebellum, the largest part of the
hindbrain and responsible for balance and the fine control of muscle movements; and the
hypothalamus, which lies below the third ventricle (желудочек) of the brain, and regulates many of the
body's functions and the activity of the pituitary gland (гипофиз).
In the diencephalon:
* thalamus - filters sensory information, senses pain
* hypothalamus - regulates hunger, thirst, body temperature
* epithalamus - secretes melatonin, sets day/night cycle
 The Thalamus

The thalamus, shown in red, is part of the forebrain. It plays an integral part in relaying sensory
information from the sense organs to the cortex. Acting as a major relay center, the thalamus passes
incoming messages (входящие импульсы) on to higher centers in the cortex. A thalamus with its
nuclei (ядра) color coded is represented here. Some nuclei deal with several different types of
messages, while other nuclei deal with only one type. The lateral geniculate (латеральное коленчатое
тело) body relays information to the visual cortex, and the medial geniculate (медиальное коленчатое
тело) body relays sound

Anatomy of the Hypothalamus

Connected by many nerve tracts (нервные пути) with the brain and spinal cord, the
hypothalamus acts as a link between the endocrine system and the nervous system. It functions
automatically, monitoring and regulating the autonomic nervous system as well as the state of the
body's metabolism through eating, drinking, temperature control, sexual drives and "fight or flight"
(борьба или бегство) reactions. It also controls the menstrual cycle and is thought to contain a
pleasure center. Finally, it directs hormones released by the anterior pituitary gland (передняя доля
гипофиза).
The anatomy of the hypothalamus includes:
The medial forebrain nerve bundle (медиальный переднемозговой пучок), which leads to the
front area of the cerebral cortex.
The fornix (свод мозга), a bundle of nerve fibers, which carries messages associated with
memory from the limbic system.
The "control centers", which are grouped together to form the core (ядро) of the hypothalamus.
The mamillothalamic (мамиллоталамический) tract, which is involved with the synthesis of
emotions.
The dorsal longitudinal bundle (пучок продольный задний), which carries messages concerned
with digestion to the brain stem.
The pituitary portal system (система воротной вены гипофиза), which carries hypothalamic
hormones to the anterior pituitary gland.
The infundibular stalk (воронка гипоталамуса), which connects the pituitary gland to the brain.
The neurosecretory tracts, which channel hypothalamic hormones to the posterior pituitary gland
(задняя доля гипофиза), and the hypothalamic artery, which conducts oxygenated blood to the
hypothalamus.
 Directly below the hypothalamus lies the anterior and posterior pituitary glands. The anterior
pituitary gland secretes hormones under the control of the hypothalamus.

Functions of the Hypothalamus

The hypothalamus consists of a number of areas that control the basic drives-hunger, thirst and
sex-as well as the internal environment of the body. It is also concerned with emotions and the
sensations of pleasure and, possibly, with the sensations of pain and "displeasure". The posterior area
controls sexual drives and, therefore, the ability to reproduce the species. The anterior areas control
thirst and the drive to find water. The supraoptic nuclei (супраоптические ядра) are also concerned
with the thirst drive. The preoptic nucleus (преоптическое ядро) is the body's thermostat and
functions to control internal body temperature. The ventromedial (вентромедиальное) nucleus, or
"appestat," controls the hunger drive. The dorsomedial (дорсомедиальное) nucleus controls
aggressive behavior. The dorsal area is thought to be the human "pleasure center." (центр
удовольствия)

The Left Hemisphere

In this illustration we will see the left hemisphere of the brain from three different views.
Here, the brain is seen in a cross section from the side with the right hemisphere removed.
Here is a frontal elevation of the hemispheres. The solid red patches indicate some of the areas
involved with the control and production of language. Language areas on the surface of the left
hemisphere are shown here. Broca's area is involved in the motor control of speech, and Wernickes's
area in more general language control. Naming and writing are controlled by other areas.

The Right Hemisphere

Visio-spatial skills and musical talent are the two outstanding nonverbal abilities regulated and
controlled by the right hemisphere. This illustration shows the elements of right hemisphere abilities
blended together to produce a colorful visual representation of its features. The right hemisphere also
conceives the world in different dimensions when compared to its left hemisphere partner. The right
brain interprets the world in total rather than in the logical stages characteristic of the left hemisphere,
which is primarily concerned with verbal skills.