How is the central nervous system protected from mechanical damage?
1 Answer
Jul 21, 2014
There are two parts to the nervous system: the central nervous system (CNS) and the peripheral nervous system (PNS).
The CNS is composed of just the brain and the spinal cord. Both are enclosed in bone. The brain is covered by the skull which is made of 1 occipital bone, 2 temporal bones, 2 parietal bones, 1 sphenoid bone, 1 ethmoid bone and 1 frontal bone or a total of 8 bones.
The spinal cord is protected by the bony vertebra. Each is composed of bone and hyaline cartilage. There are also openings that allow the spinal nerves to leave the spinal cord. This gives some protection to the nerves as well.
