The diagram given below shows the internal structure of a spinal cord depicting a phenomenon. Study the diagram and answer the questions: The diagram given below shows the internal structure of a spinal cord depicting a phenomenon. Study the diagram and answer the questions:
Mention two ways by which the spinal cord is protected in our body.
Topic: Protection of the spinal cord
Answer
- It is enclosed within the VERTEBRAL COLUMN (backbone), a bony canal that shields it from mechanical injury.
- It is wrapped in the three MENINGES, with CEREBROSPINAL FLUID between the arachnoid and pia mater acting as a shock-absorbing cushion.
Two ways, and they should be different in KIND — one BONY, one MEMBRANOUS.
The three MENINGES from outside inwards: DURA MATER (tough), ARACHNOID MATER (web-like), PIA MATER (delicate, against the nervous tissue).
The CEREBROSPINAL FLUID does two jobs, and mentioning both strengthens the answer: it CUSHIONS against shock, and it supplies NUTRIENTS to the nerve cells while carrying wastes away — since no blood vessel reaches every neuron directly.
The brain is protected in exactly the same way, with the SKULL in place of the vertebral column.