spinal cord: Quick Facts

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Nerves and ganglia of the human spinal cord

Human spinal cord

Structures of a spinal nerve

MRI of a patient with syringomyelia

lower cervical section of human spinal cord

Diagram showing the knee jerk reflex: a reflex hammer strikes the patellar tendon below the knee, activating a stretch receptor in the quadriceps muscle. This sends a signal through a sensory neuron to the spinal cord, where it connects to a motor neuron. The motor neuron then signals the muscle to contract, causing the lower leg to kick forward. The diagram also illustrates the pathway of sensory and motor neurons and their connection in the spinal cord.

reflexive action

Understand the structure and functions of the central nervous system

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Topics

cauda equina rubrospinal tract vestibulospinal tract lateral horn corticospinal tract conus medullaris dorsal column reticulospinal tract spinocerebellar tract pontine reticulospinal tract Cerebrospinal fluid neuroglia

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Key People

Sir Victor Horsley, c. 1910

Sir Victor Horsley

British surgeon

Sir Ludwig Guttmann stands smiling at Heathrow Airport, speaking with British Paralympian Karen Hill and another female Paralympian in wheelchairs, with an airplane in the background.

Ludwig Guttmann

English neurosurgeon

John Hughlings Jackson, oil painting by Lance Calkin; in the London Hospital Medical College

John Hughlings Jackson

British physician

Charles-Édouard Brown-Séquard

Charles-Édouard Brown-Séquard

French physiologist

Superficial arteries and veins of face and scalp, cardiovascular system, human anatomy, (Netter replacement project - SSC)

The Human Body