Simply nervous cells are not able to heal and form scar tissues that will hinder the function of signal transmission, this leads to paralysis in certain parts of the body.
If you think of the spinal cord as a cable that is used to transmit "Data" from the brain to different parts of the body then if a certain injury occurs and some of the "wires" are cut then certain parts of the body will be no longer able to receive this "data" from the brain.
Now let us take a very fast look at the vertebral column that in cases and protects the spinal cord.
The main function of the vertebral column is to protect the spinal cord and to support the head. There are 33 bones that are called "vertebrae" they are divided as follows:
- 7 Cervical vertebrae in the neck.
- 12 Thoracic vertebrae in the upper back part, these correspond to each pair of the ribs.
- 5 Lumbar vertebrae in the lower back
- 5 Sacral vertebrae are fused together forming one bone called the sacrum.
- 4 Coccygeal vertebrae that are also fused to form the tailbone that is also known as coccyx.
The spinal cord is surrounded by three meninges (membranes) and a cerebrospinal fluid. The meninges also cover the brain. Together the meninges and cerebrospinal fluid help to protect the spinal cord and the spinal nerve roots.
•Dura mater: This layer of the meninges forms the outer layer, it forms a sac that’s separated from the vertebrae by an epidural space. Dura mater also covers the nerve roots.
•Arachnoid mater: This layer of the meninges forms the middle layer. It’s separated from the Dura mater by a thin layer of cells called the Dura-arachnoid interface.
•Cerebrospinal fluid: This fluid is formed mainly by the choroid plexuses of the brain. It circulates over the brain and down around the spinal cord, where it surrounds the spinal cord and removes waste products before it passes through the bloodstream.
•Pia mater: This layer of the meninges forms the inner layer, it’s a vascular membrane that covers the spinal cord and it’s separated from the arachnoid mater by the subarachnoid space, which is filled with cerebrospinal fluid. It also covers the nerve roots and spinal blood vessels.
The spinal cord serves as an information pathway between the brain and the peripheral nerves that serve the rest of the body. It’s quite delicate and requires a lot of protection.
Histologically, it’s divided into two compartments :
*The inner gray matter that’s composed of the cell bodies,
*The outer white matter that’s composed of myelinated nerve fibers.
There are 31 pairs of spinal nerves that leave the spinal cord to innervate various structures throughout the body. They’re categorized by regions (Segments): 8 cervical, 12 thoracic, 5 lumbar, 5 sacral, and 1 coccygeal.
Both the nerves and the segments in the spinal cord are numbered in the same way as the bones:
The spinal cord serves as an information pathway between the brain and the peripheral nerves that serve the rest of the body. It’s quite delicate and requires a lot of protection.
Histologically, it’s divided into two compartments :
*The inner gray matter that’s composed of the cell bodies,
*The outer white matter that’s composed of myelinated nerve fibers.
There are 31 pairs of spinal nerves that leave the spinal cord to innervate various structures throughout the body. They’re categorized by regions (Segments): 8 cervical, 12 thoracic, 5 lumbar, 5 sacral, and 1 coccygeal.Both the nerves and the segments in the spinal cord are numbered in the same way as the bones:
§The Cervical Nerves: C1 --> C8,
§The Thoracic Nerves: T1 --> T12,
§The Lumbar Nerves: L1 --> L5,
§The Sacral Nerves: S1 --> S5,
§The Coccygeal Nerve: Co.
Superb post however , I was wanting to know if you could write a litte more on this
ReplyDeletetopic? I'd be very grateful if you could elaborate a little bit further.
Kudos!