Skip to main content
Medicine LibreTexts

14: Nervous System

  • Page ID
    2267
  • \( \newcommand{\vecs}[1]{\overset { \scriptstyle \rightharpoonup} {\mathbf{#1}} } \) \( \newcommand{\vecd}[1]{\overset{-\!-\!\rightharpoonup}{\vphantom{a}\smash {#1}}} \)\(\newcommand{\id}{\mathrm{id}}\) \( \newcommand{\Span}{\mathrm{span}}\) \( \newcommand{\kernel}{\mathrm{null}\,}\) \( \newcommand{\range}{\mathrm{range}\,}\) \( \newcommand{\RealPart}{\mathrm{Re}}\) \( \newcommand{\ImaginaryPart}{\mathrm{Im}}\) \( \newcommand{\Argument}{\mathrm{Arg}}\) \( \newcommand{\norm}[1]{\| #1 \|}\) \( \newcommand{\inner}[2]{\langle #1, #2 \rangle}\) \( \newcommand{\Span}{\mathrm{span}}\) \(\newcommand{\id}{\mathrm{id}}\) \( \newcommand{\Span}{\mathrm{span}}\) \( \newcommand{\kernel}{\mathrm{null}\,}\) \( \newcommand{\range}{\mathrm{range}\,}\) \( \newcommand{\RealPart}{\mathrm{Re}}\) \( \newcommand{\ImaginaryPart}{\mathrm{Im}}\) \( \newcommand{\Argument}{\mathrm{Arg}}\) \( \newcommand{\norm}[1]{\| #1 \|}\) \( \newcommand{\inner}[2]{\langle #1, #2 \rangle}\) \( \newcommand{\Span}{\mathrm{span}}\)\(\newcommand{\AA}{\unicode[.8,0]{x212B}}\)

    Learning Objectives

    After completing this section, you should know:

    • the role of the nervous system in coordinating an animal’s response to the environment
    • that the nervous system gathers, sorts and stores information and initiates movement
    • the basic structure and function of a neuron
    • the structure and function of a synapse and neurotransmitter chemicals
    • the nervous pathway known as a reflex with examples
    • that training can develop conditioned reflexes in animals
    • that the nervous system can be divided into the central and peripheral nervous systems
    • that the brain is surrounded by membranes called meninges
    • the basic parts of the brain and the function of the cerebral hemispheres, hypothalamus, pituitary, cerebellum and medulla oblongata
    • the structure and function of the spinal cord
    • that the peripheral nervous system consists of cranial and spinal nerves and the autonomic nervous system
    • that the autonomic nervous system consists of sympathetic and parasympathetic parts with different functions

    Thumbnail: Brain human lateral view. (CC BY 2.5; Patrick J. Lynch, medical illustrator).


    This page titled 14: Nervous System is shared under a CC BY-SA 3.0 license and was authored, remixed, and/or curated by Ruth Lawson via source content that was edited to the style and standards of the LibreTexts platform; a detailed edit history is available upon request.

    • Was this article helpful?