Spinal Cord Anatomy

The anatomy of the spinal cord is very unique. Externally, it is initially surrounded by the vertebral column. The vertebral column is divided into the cervical, thoracic, lumbar, sacral, and coccygeal regions. These different vertebrae protect the spinal cord from damage and form a type of shell around it. The spinal cord appears as a long, thin cord of nerves. The peripheral nerves that extend out to many parts of the body arise from the spinal cords thirty-one segmental pairs of nerves. The cervical region contains eight pairs of cervical nerves, the thoracic contains twelve pairs of thoracic nerves, the lumbar contains five pairs of lumbar nerves, the sacral contains five pairs of sacral nerves, and the coccygeal contains one pair of coccygeal
It is a part of the central nervous system. The spinal cord is a bundle of nerves running down the center of your back and works with the brain to relay messages all throughout the body. It is the link between the brain and the sensory and motor neurons that go throughout your entire body. Due to this connection with motor neurons in muscles, it helps you to move everything in your body. Due to its connection to the sensory neurons and the brain, it allows you to feel sensations such as both hot and cold temperatures and vibrations. It also allows you to be able to sense the position of your arms and legs at all times. When you move any part of your body, messages travel from your brain and then to the spinal cord where these messages are directed and sent out to the proper neurons to move the intended muscle. Messages also move in the opposite direction to feel sensation from touch from the sensory neurons. In regards to homeostasis, it plays an important role as well. The spinal cord helps in controlling the blood pressure in the body, the overall heart rate, and the normal temperature of the body through its interactions with the brain and nerves. Another way it helps maintain homeostasis is through reflexes. The reflexes in the body are fast, predictable, autonomic responses to changes in the environment that help maintain homeostasis.
It seems that the drug is able to substantially slow the disease from progressing in some people. A doctor may also prescribe medication to provide relief from minor symptoms of this disease, such as cramps, spasticity, constipation, etc. Therapy is also available, such as breathing care with devices, physical therapy to help with pain, and occupational therapy to help compensate for weakness in the muscles. Speech therapy, nutritional support, and psychological and social support may also help a patient and their family when learning to deal with ALS. Spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) is another degenerative disease that also affects the spinal cord. It’s a genetic disorder that can cause a loss in the control of muscles and is caused by the spinal cord and the part of the brain connected to the spinal cord losing important motor neurons. This disease leads to weakness and wasting away of muscles used for crawling, walking, etc. It can sometimes even effect those used for breathing and swallowing. Currently, there is no treatment for SMA. Just like ALS, treatment consists of managing the symptoms of the disease and preventing problems that may occur. Muscle relaxants may reduce the amount of muscle spasms in the patient, and antidepressants can be used to help the depression that the patient may feel after diagnosis and as the disease progresses. Physical therapy, occupational therapy, and