CHAPTER X
DISEASES OF THE NERVOUS SYSTEM
GENERAL DISCUSSION.—The nervous system may be divided into central and peripheral portions. The central portion comprises the brain or encephalon and the spinal cord. These organs are lodged in the cranial cavity and spinal canal. The nerves and ganglia comprise the peripheral portion. The nerves form white cords that are made up of nerve fibres. The ganglia are grayish enlargements formed by nerve cells and supporting tissue, situated at the origin of the nerve trunk or along its course.
The brain is an oval mass of nerve tissue elongated from before to behind, and slightly depressed from above to below. It terminates posteriorly in the spinal cord. It is divided into three portions: cerebrum, isthmus and cerebellum (Fig. 25).
The cerebrum forms the anterior portion. It is divided into two lateral lobes or hemispheres by a deep longitudinal fissure. The surface of the cerebral hemispheres is gray and roughened by pleats or folds separated by grooves or fissures. The gray or cortical layer is distinct from the white or connecting structure. The cortical layer is made up of nerve cells or areas which control the voluntary muscles of the body. It is connected with the special senses of touch, temperature and muscle-sense. The gray layer is connected with the posterior portion of the brain, the isthmus or medulla oblongata, by the white nerve tissue.
The isthmus or medulla oblongata is elongated from before to behind and connects the cerebral hemispheres with the spinal cord, anteriorly and posteriorly. It is divided into several different portions, and is made up largely of white connecting fibres with nuclei of gray matter scattered through them. The isthmus is hollowed out by a system of small ventricles that extend from the cerebral hemispheres to the spinal cord, where they terminate in a small, central canal. The isthmus is the highway between the spinal cord and the higher nerve centres. It has in it certain cell centres that give origin to six of the cranial nerves.
[Illustration: FIG. 25.—Photograph of model of horse's brain: longitudinal section; lateral view; cerebrum; cerebellum; and isthmus.]
The third division of the brain is the cerebellum. This is a single mass supported by the isthmus. It is situated posterior to the cerebrum, from which it is separated by a transverse fold of the membranes covering the brain. This mass of nerve tissue is much smaller than the cerebrum. The white nerve tissue forms central nuclei which send out branches that ramify in every direction. The centre of the muscular sense is said to be located in this division of the brain. A second function is the maintenance of body equilibrium through its connection with the nerve of the middle ear.
The spinal cord commences at the posterior opening (occipital foramen) of the cranial cavity, and terminates posteriorly in the lumbar region at the upper third of that portion of the spinal canal belonging to the sacrum. It is thick, white in color, irregularly cylindrical in shape, slightly flattened above and below and reaches its largest diameter in the lower cervical and lumbar regions. The spinal canal is lined by the outer membrane that envelops the cord, which aids in fixing this organ to the wall of the canal. The spinal cord is formed by white and gray nerve tissue. The gray tissue is situated within the white, and it is arranged in the form of two lateral comma-shaped columns connected by a narrow commissure of gray matter. The extremities of the lateral gray columns mark the origin of the superior and inferior roots of the spinal nerves. The white tissue of the cord is also divided into lateral portions by superior and median fissures. The inferior fissure does not extend as far as the gray commissure, leaving the lateral inferior columns connected by a white commissure. There are certain centres in the spinal cord that are capable of carrying on certain reflex actions independent of the chief centre in the brain. The white matter of the cord is made up of paths over which impulses to and from the brain are transmitted.
There are twelve pairs of cranial nerves. Two pairs belong exclusively to the special senses, smell and sight. Altogether there are ten pairs that are devoted to functions connected with the head, either as nerves of the special senses or in a motor or sensory capacity (Figs. 26 and 27). There are two pairs distributed to other regions. These are the tenth and eleventh pairs. The tenth pair or pneumogastric is distributed to the vital organs lodged within the body cavities.