Study guide · 7 units · 36 things to learn
Anatomy and physiology nervous system study guide
Follows the nervous system chapters of a typical college anatomy and physiology course, in the same order as the free OpenStax textbook, chapters 12 to 16.
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Work through the units in order. Read each topic, open each part in 3D, then take the unit's quiz: everything you answer comes back in your daily review, right before you would forget it. Ticks show what you have done on this device.
1. Nervous tissue (chapter 12)
Quiz this unit in 3DHow the nervous system is organized, neurons and glial cells, the action potential, and communication between neurons.
2. The brain (section 13.2)
Quiz this unit in 3DThe cerebrum and its lobes, the basal nuclei, the diencephalon, the brainstem and the cerebellum.
- The big pictureLesson in 3D · Cerebrum, cerebellum and brainstem.
- Lobes of the brainTopic · The four lobes of each hemisphere, and what each one does.
- The hidden cortexLesson in 3D · Insula, cingulate and the inner surfaces.
- Basal gangliaBrain part · Your action selector: says "go" to one move and "no-go" to all the rest.
- DiencephalonBrain part · The "in-between brain": home of the thalamus, hypothalamus and a few tiny glands.
- ThalamusBrain part · The brain's grand central station: nearly every sense stops here on its way up.
- BrainstemBrain part · The stalk connecting brain and body, running breathing, heartbeat and wakefulness.
- CerebellumBrain part · The "little brain" that holds most of your neurons and makes every move smooth.
- Limbic systemBrain part · The brain's emotion and memory team, wrapped around its deep core.
3. Ventricles, fluid and blood supply (section 13.3)
Quiz this unit in 3DThe meninges, the ventricles, how cerebrospinal fluid is made and flows, the blood-brain barrier, and the arteries that supply the brain.
- Wiring and fluidLesson in 3D · White matter cables and the ventricles.
- Cerebrospinal fluid, the ventricles and the meningesTopic · How the brain's fluid is made and flows, and the layers that wrap it.
- Ventricular systemBrain part · A hidden network of fluid-filled chambers that cushions and cleans the brain.
- Choroid plexusBrain part · The brain's fluid factory: frilly tissue that makes cerebrospinal fluid.
- Blood supply of the brainTopic · The arteries that feed each area, and what a stroke in each one does.
4. Spinal cord and cranial nerves (sections 13.2 and 13.4)
Quiz this unit in 3DThe spinal cord and the twelve cranial nerves: their names, numbers and jobs.
- Spinal cordBrain part · The body's main information highway, and home to lightning-fast reflexes.
- Cranial nervesBrain part · Twelve pairs of nerves wired straight from the brain to your eyes, face, throat, and gut.
- The brainstem and cranial nervesLesson in 3D · Life support and the nerves of the head.
5. The somatic nervous system (chapter 14)
Quiz this unit in 3DSensory and motor pathways: touch, vision, hearing and balance in, and movement out through the motor cortex, basal nuclei and cerebellum.
- Moving and feelingLesson in 3D · The motor and sensory strips.
- Touch, pain and temperature: the sensory pathwaysTopic · How touch, pain and temperature travel up the spinal cord to the sensory strip.
- SeeingLesson in 3D · From the eye to the back of the brain.
- The visual pathway: from the eye to the brainTopic · From the eye to the visual cortex, and what damage on the way does.
- Hearing and balanceLesson in 3D · From the inner ear to the cortex.
- How the brain controls movement: upper and lower motor neuronsTopic · From motor cortex to muscle, and how to tell upper from lower motor neuron damage.
- Corticospinal tractBrain part · The main highway for movement, running from your brain all the way down the spinal cord.
- The basal gangliaLesson in 3D · Choosing which movement goes.
- The cerebellumLesson in 3D · Smooth, balanced, well-timed movement.
6. The autonomic nervous system (chapter 15)
Quiz this unit in 3DThe sympathetic and parasympathetic divisions, and the brain centers that control them.
- The autonomic nervous system: sympathetic and parasympatheticTopic · Fight or flight, rest and digest: how the body runs its automatic jobs.
- HypothalamusBrain part · An almond-sized control center for temperature, hunger, thirst, sleep and hormones.
- Medulla oblongataBrain part · Your life-support center: breathing, heartbeat, blood pressure and swallowing on autopilot.
- Vagus nerve (X)Brain part · The "wandering" nerve that runs from your brainstem to your heart, lungs, and gut.
7. The neurological exam (chapter 16)
Quiz this unit in 3DHow the parts you learned show up in a neurological exam of speech, sensation, strength and coordination, and how damage in one place causes specific signs.
- Broca's areaBrain part · Where thoughts become speech: the famous language region discovered in 1861.
- Primary somatosensory cortexBrain part · Your touch map: every patch of skin has its own spot on this strip.
- Stroke and injury casesPractice in 3D · Read what happened to a patient, then find the damage on the 3D brain.
Tips for studying
- Anatomy is spatial: turn each structure around in 3D and say out loud what sits above, below and beside it.
- Learn the cranial nerves with a mnemonic first, then attach one job to each nerve.
- Link each structure to what happens when it is damaged. The stroke cases turn that into practice.
Built from the official outline
This guide follows these official pages. Check them for the latest version of what your exam or class covers.
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