BSc Year 2

Neuroscience 2

Basic Neuroanatomy of the Brain

Introduction

The nervous system can be divided into two parts, but remember these are anatomically and functionally continuous.
The central nervous system consists of the neurones and neuroglia of the brain and the spinal cord. The peripheral
nervous system consists of all the nervous tissues outside, or peripheral to, the central nervous system as 31 (paired)
spinal nerves and 12 pairs of cranial nerves.

The brain, protected by the skull, coordinates most of the activities of the nervous system. It is continuous with the
spinal cord at the foramen magnum of the skull. The spinal cord is protected by the vertebral column. The skull
contains numerous small apertures (foramen) through which the cranial nerves (and other structures such as blood
vessels) pass.

The CNS is responsible for receiving, processing and analysing sensory information from a wide array of sensory
stimuli within the body and also responding to the external environment. The CNS then integrates this information
and if necessary memorises it and / or initiates an appropriate response. This may be very discrete, blinking the eye
in response to movement of air across the cornea for example, or a complex interaction of motor responses, perhaps
moving the entire body in response to seeing a tiger moving towards you in your peripheral vision. The brain is where
memory is retained, and it can also initiate movement at will. The very complex forebrain in humans in part reflects
the additional processing associated with emotion, personality and intellect.

The cranial nerves were covered in Neuroscience 1, but we will reconsider the cranial nerves again because of their
central projections, particularly in the brainstem where there are discrete nuclei associated with particular motor and
sensory functions of those nerves.

In this session you will review aspects of the Neuroscience 1 module and extend this, particularly with regard to the
brain. It is important that you spend most of the time during this session examining a brain atlas, the models of the
head and neck, and brain.

In this session however, you will also consider an overview of the vascular supply of the brain and spinal cord, this is
covered in more detail in your cardiovascular system module.

The central nervous system has high metabolic demands, depending upon the aerobic oxidation of glucose. This is
reflected in the following statistics - despite comprising 2% of body weight, the brain receives about 17% of cardiac
output at rest, and consumes 20% of the oxygen used by the entire body. In addition, blood flow must remain
constant whether the body is at rest or during exercise: this is maintained by autoregulation. Reduction or
interruption of blood flow for more than a few minutes results in irreversible brain damage and the majority of
nervous system disorders are the result of vascular insufficiency.

The brain is supplied with blood by two pairs of vessels, the vertebral arteries and the internal carotid arteries. The
vertebral arteries pass through the foramen magnum to join as the basilar artery on the anterior aspect of the
brainstem. The internal carotid arteries arise at the bifurcation of the common carotid arteries. The basilar artery
divides into the posterior cerebral arteries which give off a number of branches, one of which is the posterior
communicating artery. Within the subarachnoid space, the internal carotid artery bifurcates to form the middle
cerebral artery and the anterior cerebral artery. These, with the anterior communicating artery and the posterior
communicating artery, form the circle of Willis.

The bones of the skull offer an obvious physical protection to the brain, but the brain is also further protected by
three membranes, the meninges. The meninges enclose the central nervous system and anchor it against sudden
movement. Importantly, they enclose the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) which forms a hydraulic cushion around the

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nervous tissue – this means the brain ‘floats’ within the cranial vault and sudden movements (such as might happen if
somebody falls over and their head hits the floor) are dampened reducing brain injury.

The cranial dura mater is a double layer of tough connective tissue – the outer layer adheres to the bones of the skull
forming the periosteum. The meningeal or true dura mater lines this and reflects down to form sheets of tissue such
as the falx cerebri and the tentorium cerebelli.

The pia mater adheres to the surface of the central nervous system, following the contours of the gyri and sulci. The
arachnoid mater, which lies between the dura and the pia, is transparent, delicate and impermeable, with web-­‐like
trabeculations connecting it to the underlying pia mater. The space between the arachnoid and pia mater is the
subarachnoid space which is of varying depth in different regions and contains CSF. The major vessels supplying the
brain run through the subarachnoid space.

When the brain is removed from the cranial vault the CSF flows out of the system and the arachnoid falls down onto
the nervous tissue where it looks like a very thin silvery membrane covering the brain and overlying blood vessels. It
is difficult to retain blood vessels during removal of the arachnoid as you will see in atlases.

The central nervous system originated as a simple fluid-­‐filled tube, the neural tube. This tube-­‐like structure remains
apparent in the spinal cord (where fluid is in the spinal central canal), but as the brain grows it develops into a complicated
shape, therefore changing the shape of the fluid-­‐filled cavity. Deep inside the fore, mid and hind brains therefore, are a
series of interconnecting chambers, the ventricles. There are two large lateral ventricles, deep to the lobes of cerebral
hemispheres of the brain; the single third ventricle in the midline between the thalami, and the fourth ventricle, which lies
between the brainstem and the cerebellum. Only in the midbrain is there still a discrete canal – the cerebral aqueduct that
connects the third and fourth ventricles. The central canal of the spinal cord continues down the length of the cord from
the most caudal part of the fourth ventricle.

Objectives

When you have prepared for this small group session, and following it completed any follow-­‐up work required, you
should be able to:

• Identify the major features of the brain as seen externally and in sagittal and coronal section and summarise the
major functions of these areas.
• Describe the major functions of the cerebral cortex, cerebral white matter, basal ganglia, diencephalon, brainstem
and cerebellum.
• Identify and locate major functional areas of the cerebellum and brainstem from external views including the
attachments of cranial nerves.
• Accurately summarise the blood supply of the brain.
• Identify the three meningeal layers of the brain, and appreciate their role in protection of neural tissue.
• Identify the ventricles of the brain and appreciate their three-­‐dimensional orientation.

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Suggested Preparative Reading

You are expected to have a neuroscience textbook which will have some basic neuroanatomy in it. Guidance as to
page numbers is given for those books we have in the ATR cupboard, and there are also copies in the library. You will
need to find appropriate sections to read yourself. You will need to make appropriate notes from these texts.

Gray’s Anatomy for Students (3rd Edition) Pages 873– 903

Drake, Vogl and Mitchell
Churchill Livingstone
Clinically Orientated Anatomy (Seventh edition) Pages 822 – 835; 865 – 872; 1053 – 1075
Moore, Dalley and Agur
Lippincott, Williams and Wilkins

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Color Atlas of the Brain and Spinal Cord (Second edition) Selected sections of pages 3 – 22;
MA England and J Wakely 55 – 102; 207– 218
Mosby / Elsevier

Neuroanatomy An Illustrated Colour Text (Fifth E dition) Pages 10 – 18; 50 – 68

AR Crossman and D Neary
Churchill Livingstone, Elsevier

Some key images are given to you as part of this session – it is important however that you obtain a few images from
textbooks, and the internet that you source yourself.

A video will be shown during this session – you will find it useful to have read the session notes before watching it.

Selected diagrams, extra notes and questions:

You covered much of this material in year 1 and it was also mentioned in the lecture on the Topography of the Brain
and Spinal Cord. Use your time today to ensure that you are able to recognise all the major features of the brain.

• Label the diagram below, which shows a section of skull and the meningeal layers surrounding the brain. How do
these membranes, and the fluid between some of them protect the brain?

[Watch the video which shows a brain being removed from a cadaver at post mortem]

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• Examine models, skulls and atlases of the brain. Try to identify the brainstem, cerebellum and the lobes of the
cerebral hemispheres. Try and work out the orientation of the brain within the cranial cavity.

• Which parts of the brain lies:

Above the orbit of the skull

Above the ear

Behind the ear

Behind the oropharynx?

• Which parts of the central nervous system form the brainstem and which cranial nerves attach to it? Label the
diagram below to include cerebral lobes, the cerebellum and major parts of the brainstem. Note the crus cerebri.
What is contained in that part of the midbrain?

• What is a sulcus and what is a gyrus? What separates the temporal lobe from the parietal lobe, and the frontal
lobe from the parietal lobe?

• Find the central sulcus of the brain – what lies to either side of it, and what are their primary functions?

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The motor fibres of the cranial nerves with a motor (efferent) function originate (arise) from collections of neuronal
cell bodies (motor nuclei) that lie deep within the brainstem. These motor nuclei of cranial nerves are equivalent to
the ventral horn cells of the spinal cord.

If the brain is cut into slices, distinct areas of grey and white matter can be seen. The grey matter consists of
collections of nerve cell bodies and the white matter of axons, they are white because of the myelination of axons by
oligodendrocytes. In the spinal cord the grey matter lies centrally and is surrounded by white matter. In the
telencephalon the grey matter lies at the outer margins forming the cerebral cortex, in the diencephalon and
brainstem discrete areas of grey matter called nuclei are surrounded by white matter.

• In what plane has the following diagram been sectioned? Label the Grey matter; White matter; Lateral ventricles;
Third ventricle; and label (and colour) the Thalamus; Putamen and Globus pallidus (Lentiform nucleus) Internal
capsule; Caudate nucleus; Corpus callosum; Longitudinal fissure; Lateral sulcus; Temporal lobe; Insula; Lateral
ventricle; Third ventricle; Hypothalamus. Ensure that you can identify them all on models in a number of different
orientations.

• Examine the ventricles on the models and note their close anatomical relations. Label the following on the
diagrams below: Lateral ventricles (body, anterior and posterior horns); third ventricle; fourth ventricle; and
cerebral aquaduct.

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• Which aspects of the ventricular system lie within the forebrain; midbrain; hindbrain? What is periaqueductal
grey matter and what is its function? Where is the caudate nucleus? Why are so many nuclei close to the
ventricular system?

• This is a diagram of the brainstem and diencephalon. Identify the major features on the dorsal, ventral and lateral
aspects (it is very similar to a model in your rooms to give a three-­‐dimensional representation). Consider the
position of these structures within the skull.

• Where does the cerebellum attach to the brainstem? Examine the brainstem and cerebellum on the models.

• Label the vessels shown on the diagram below which illustrates the arterial supply to the brain and includes
the Circle of Willis. Where is the circle of Willis located relative to the brain and brainstem?

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