Describe the spinal cord, depicting its extent, its composition of gray and white matter, and its spinal roots.
Describe the spinal cord, depicting its extent, its composition of gray and white matter, and its spinal roots.
A central nervous system’s component that is enclosed in the vertebral column and extends from the skull's foramen magnum to the first or second lumbar vertebra is called the spinal cord. It lies inferior to the ribs.
Spinal cord comprises both grey and white matter. The mixture of neuron cell bodies, their non-myelinated processes, interneurons and the neuroglia make up the spinal cord's gray matter which looks like a butterfly in cross-section. In contrast, the white matter is composed of the nerve fibres that run-in ascending, descending and transverse direction. These nerve fibres can be myelinated or non-myelinated.
There are two kinds of spinal roots of the spinal cord called the ventral and the dorsal root. The ventral root performs motor functions and sends signals away from the spinal cord. On the other hand, the dorsal root performs sensory functions and send signals to the brain. The ventral and dorsal roots fuse laterally to form spinal nerves which function in the peripheral nervous system.
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