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‘ To practise as a doctor without profound anatomical knowledge is unthinkable. For the diagnosing, treatment and prognosis of illnesses, a detailed knowledge of the structure, positional relationships and the neurovascular pathways which supply the regions and organs of the body is central.’ Anatomical knowledge is gained through cognitive, tactile and especially visual learning processes, and can only be fully acquired when working with the human…

An Introduction to Neuropathology

The different diagnoses of diseases and disorders within the nervous system are made using neuropathology in coordination with clinical signs/symptoms and imaging. The imaging techniques discussed in Chapter 9 , coalesced with biopsies, the use of selective antibodies to identify cellular markers, and particular stains to highlight cellular structures, are all used to make a diagnosis. This chapter will present some common neuropathological diseases Stains used…

Functional Systems

The preceding chapters presented the major structures seen at individual levels of the central nervous system (CNS) or in particular views of the brain. This chapter is complementary, using many of the same sections and views to indicate the structures and connections involved in particular neurological functions. We have taken a “bare-bones” approach to this task and indicated only major pathways and connections. Much of the…

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Formation, Modification, and Repair of Neuronal Connections

Previous chapters may have hinted that the parts of the nervous system are interconnected in rigid, immutable ways, but this is far from accurate. The details of the nervous system are much too complex to be completely laid out genetically. Instead, only the general layout of the nervous system is specified genetically; later stages of development are a time of great plasticity, in which neurons and…

Drives and Emotions: The Hypothalamus and Limbic System

We seldom perceive things in a completely neutral fashion. Various sights and sounds make us happy, sad, or angry; some tastes and smells are extremely gratifying, others disgusting. Such feelings engendered by sensory inputs are ultimately the result of brains wired to promote survival and reproduction, and they are variable depending on current physiological needs and the social situation. Food, for example, becomes more attractive when…

Cerebral Cortex

The cerebral cortex is a sheet of neurons and their interconnections. About 1800 cm 2 (2 ft 2 ) in surface area, the cortex covers the corrugated surface of the cerebral hemispheres in a layer just a few millimeters thick. This thin layer of gray matter accounts for nearly half the weight of the brain and is estimated to contain about 25 billion neurons, interconnected by more…