It will emphasize the central nervous system, and will thus complement Gross Anatomy in which you studied important aspects of peripheral neuroanatomy. In the first 6 lectures of this course, expect to focus intensive effort on learning basic neuroanatomy of the brain and spinal cord. Expect to spend significant amounts of study time memorizing, pointing and naming, and regurgitating. This initial effort will establish the vocabulary and framework necessary to deal with the more conceptual parts of this course. Glial cells are non-neural support cells and are of three, functionally distinct types.
Oligodendrocytes form and maintain the myelin sheath of axons in the central nervous system.
Astrocytes are sensitive to nervous system insults, responding with changes that are dependent on the nature of the insult. For example, astrocytes form the scar tissue that follows neuronal destruction. Other functions will be discussed subsequently. Microglia are phagocytic cells that form part of the central nervous system's defense against injury and infection. Neurons are specialized cells that receive, integrate and transmit information throughout the nervous system.