1
NSC 302 - Exam 1 Questions with Answers (100% Correct
Answers)
Anterior (rostral) Answer: front of brain
Posterior (caudal) Answer: toward the tail
Dorsal Answer: Top/up/back
Ventral Answer: Bottom/down/belly side
Lateral Answer: away from the midline
Medial Answer: toward the midline
4 elements of the CNS Answer: Cerebrum, cerebellum, brain stem,
spinal cord
Dorsal root spinal nerve Answer: Carries afferent (sensory) info into
the spinal cord
Ventral root spinal nerve Answer: Carries efferent (motor) information
from the spinal cord
Dorsal root ganglia Answer: clusters of sensory neuron cell bodies
outside the spinal cord
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,2
Are the dorsal root ganglia in the somatic or visceral peripheral
nervous system? Answer: Somatic
Somatic PNS Answer: The part of the peripheral nervous system that
innervates the skin, joints, and skeletal muscles.
Visceral (autonomic) PNS Answer: Neurons which innervate the
internal organs, blood vessels, and glands; sympathetic division
prepares body for action; parasympathetic division prepares body for
rest.
Cranial nerves Answer: 12 nerves from brain stem, mostly innervate
the head, some from CNS and PNS
3 meninges (from dorsal to ventral) that surround the brain Answer:
Dura mater (hard), Arachnoid membrane, pia mater (soft)
ventricles of the brain Answer: canals and caverns in the brain that
contain cerebrospinal fluid (CSF)
Choroid plexus Answer: specialized tissue in ventricles that secretes
CSF
Where is CSF reabsorbed? Answer: Subarachnoid space or lymphatic
system
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, 3
CLARITY Visualization Technique Answer: replace lipids in brain
with transparent liquid, allows view of non-lipid structures
CT (computed tomography) Answer: scan a series of X-ray
photographs taken from different angles and combined by computer
into a composite representation of a slice of the brain's structure.
Quick, cheap, easy. Does not provide detail
MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) Answer: Measures how hydrogen
atoms respond to perturbations of strong magnetic field. Signals are
mapped by computer to create imagery. More detailed than CT, no X-
irradiation, image from any angle. Time consuming and noisy.
DTI (diffusion tensor imaging) Answer: Detects movement of water
molecules in white matter pathways. Measures connectivity of
different parts of the brain, shows where communication is lacking.
PET (positron emission tomography) Answer: Radioactivity creates
dynamic image, but very expensive and resolution is not great
fMRI (functional MRI) Answer: A technique for revealing bloodflow
and, therefore, brain activity by comparing successive MRI scans. fMRI
scans show brain function.
© 2025 All rights reserved
NSC 302 - Exam 1 Questions with Answers (100% Correct
Answers)
Anterior (rostral) Answer: front of brain
Posterior (caudal) Answer: toward the tail
Dorsal Answer: Top/up/back
Ventral Answer: Bottom/down/belly side
Lateral Answer: away from the midline
Medial Answer: toward the midline
4 elements of the CNS Answer: Cerebrum, cerebellum, brain stem,
spinal cord
Dorsal root spinal nerve Answer: Carries afferent (sensory) info into
the spinal cord
Ventral root spinal nerve Answer: Carries efferent (motor) information
from the spinal cord
Dorsal root ganglia Answer: clusters of sensory neuron cell bodies
outside the spinal cord
© 2025 All rights reserved
,2
Are the dorsal root ganglia in the somatic or visceral peripheral
nervous system? Answer: Somatic
Somatic PNS Answer: The part of the peripheral nervous system that
innervates the skin, joints, and skeletal muscles.
Visceral (autonomic) PNS Answer: Neurons which innervate the
internal organs, blood vessels, and glands; sympathetic division
prepares body for action; parasympathetic division prepares body for
rest.
Cranial nerves Answer: 12 nerves from brain stem, mostly innervate
the head, some from CNS and PNS
3 meninges (from dorsal to ventral) that surround the brain Answer:
Dura mater (hard), Arachnoid membrane, pia mater (soft)
ventricles of the brain Answer: canals and caverns in the brain that
contain cerebrospinal fluid (CSF)
Choroid plexus Answer: specialized tissue in ventricles that secretes
CSF
Where is CSF reabsorbed? Answer: Subarachnoid space or lymphatic
system
© 2025 All rights reserved
, 3
CLARITY Visualization Technique Answer: replace lipids in brain
with transparent liquid, allows view of non-lipid structures
CT (computed tomography) Answer: scan a series of X-ray
photographs taken from different angles and combined by computer
into a composite representation of a slice of the brain's structure.
Quick, cheap, easy. Does not provide detail
MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) Answer: Measures how hydrogen
atoms respond to perturbations of strong magnetic field. Signals are
mapped by computer to create imagery. More detailed than CT, no X-
irradiation, image from any angle. Time consuming and noisy.
DTI (diffusion tensor imaging) Answer: Detects movement of water
molecules in white matter pathways. Measures connectivity of
different parts of the brain, shows where communication is lacking.
PET (positron emission tomography) Answer: Radioactivity creates
dynamic image, but very expensive and resolution is not great
fMRI (functional MRI) Answer: A technique for revealing bloodflow
and, therefore, brain activity by comparing successive MRI scans. fMRI
scans show brain function.
© 2025 All rights reserved
