The Ascending Tracts
The ascending tracts are neural pathways located in the white matter that conduct afferent information from the peripheral nerves to the cerebral cortex. There are usually three neurons in an ascending pathway: First-order neurons, in which the cell body is in the...
Overview of the Cranial Nerves
There are twelve paired cranial nerves in total, and they all arise directly from the brain, in contrast to the spinal nerves, which arise from segments of the spinal cord. The cranial nerves are accordingly numbered by the location within the brainstem (superior to...
Understanding Vivas
“The spoken word was the first technology by which man was able to let go of his environment in order to grasp it in a new way.” Marshall McLuhan The dreaded viva voce The viva voce, or oral exam, has declined in popularity over recent years but is still a part of...
Understanding Medical Acronyms and Abbreviations
“brb, ttyl ok? Wow, I saved a ‘ton’ of time with those acronyms.” – Stephen Colbert Acronyms are abbreviations formed from the initial components in a phrase or a word. These are usually presented are individual letters. These acronyms are very commonplace in...
