Grey matter
The formation of the spinal nerve from the dorsal and ventral roots. (Grey matter labeled at center right. )
Latin	substantia grisea
Dorlands/Elsevier	s_27/12766773

Grey matter (or gray matter) is a major component of the central nervous system, consisting of nerve cell bodies (neurons), glial cells (astroglia and oligodendrocytes), capillaries, and short nerve cell extensions/processes (axons and dendrites). Latin ( lingua Latīna, laˈtiːna is an Italic language, historically spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. Elsevier, the world's largest Publisher of Medical and Scientific literature, forms part of the Reed Elsevier group In Vertebrates the central nervous system ( CNS) is the part of the Nervous system which is enclosed in the Meninges. Neurons (ˈnjuːɹɒn also known as neurones and nerve cells) are responsive cells in the Nervous system that process and transmit information Astrocytes (also known collectively as astroglia) are characteristic star-shaped glial cells in the Brain and Spinal cord. Origin Oligodendroglia arise during development from an Oligodendrocyte precursor cell, which can be identified by its expression of a number of Antigens, including An axon or nerve fiber is a long slender projectionof a nerve cell or Neuron, that conducts electrical impulses away from the neuron's Cell Dendrites (from Greek δένδρον déndron, “tree” are the branched projections of a Neuron that act to conduct the electrochemical

Composition

It is composed of cell bodies as opposed to white matter (cell axons). White matter is one of the three main solid components of the Central nervous system. An axon or nerve fiber is a long slender projectionof a nerve cell or Neuron, that conducts electrical impulses away from the neuron's Cell It has a gray brown color which comes from the capillary blood vessels and the neuronal cell bodies. Capillaries are the smallest of a body's Blood vessels measuring 5-10 μm in diameter which connect Arterioles and Venules and enable the interchange

Distribution

Grey matter is distributed at the surface of the cerebral hemispheres (cerebral cortex) and of the cerebellum (cerebellar cortex), as well as in the depth of the cerebral (thalamus; hypothalamus; subthalamus, basal ganglia - putamen, globus pallidus, nucleus accumbens; septal nuclei), cerebellar (deep cerebellar nuclei - dentate nucleus, globose nucleus, emboliform nucleus, fastigial nucleus), brainstem (substantia nigra, red nucleus, olivary nuclei, cranial nerve nuclei) and spinal grey matter (anterior horn, lateral horn, posterior horn). A cerebral hemisphere ( hemispherium cerebrale) is defined as one of the two regions of the Brain that are delineated by the body's median plane. The cerebral cortex is a structure within the Brain that plays a key role in Memory, Attention, perceptual Awareness, Thought, The cerebellum ( Latin: "little brain" is a region of the Brain that plays an important role in the integration of sensory perception The cerebellum ( Latin: "little brain" is a region of the Brain that plays an important role in the integration of sensory perception The thalamus (from Greek θάλαμος = room chamber, IPA= /ˈθæləməs/ is a pair and symmetric part of the brain The hypothalamus links the Nervous system to the Endocrine system via the Pituitary gland (hypophysis The subthalamus is a part of the Diencephalon. Anatomy During development the subthalamus is continuous with the Hypothalamus, but is separated by The basal ganglia (or basal nuclei) are a group of nuclei in the Brain interconnected with the Cerebral cortex, Thalamus and "Putamen" is also a botanical term for the stone in a Fruit, such as a Peach. The globus pallidus ( Latin for "pale globe" is a sub- cortical structure of the Brain. The nucleus accumbens (NAcc also known as the accumbens nucleus or as the nucleus accumbens septi (Latin for nucleus leaning against the Septum The septal nuclei are structures in the middle anteroventral cerebrum that are composed of medium-size neurons grouped into medial lateral and posterior groups The Dentate nucleus is located within the deep White matter of each cerebellar hemisphere The globose nucleus is one of the deep cerebellar nuclei It is located medial to the Emboliform nucleus and lateral to the Fastigial nucleus. The emboliform nucleus lies immediately to the medial side of the Nucleus dentatus, and partly covering its hilus The fastigial nucleus or nucleus fastigii refers specifically to the concentration of gray matter nearest to the middle line at the anterior end of the superior Vermis The brain stem (or brainstem) is the lower part of the Brain, adjoining and structurally continuous with the Spinal cord. The substantia nigra ( Latin for "black substance" Sömmering) or locus niger is a heterogeneous portion of the midbrain, separating The red nucleus is a structure in the Rostral Midbrain involved in Motor coordination. In Anatomy, the olivary bodies or simply olives (Latin oliva and olivae, singular and plural respectively are a pair of prominent oval structures A cranial nerve nucleus is a collection of Neurons ( Gray matter) in the Brain stem that is associated with one or more Cranial nerves. The spinal cord is a long thin tubular bundle of Nerves that is an extension of the Central nervous system from the brain and is enclosed in and protected In the Thoracic region the postero-lateral part of the Anterior column projects lateralward as a triangular field which is named the lateral column ( lateral The posterior horn ( posterior cornu, dorsal horn, spinal dorsal horn) of the Spinal cord is the dorsal (more towards the back grey matter of

Function

The function of gray matter is to route sensory or motor stimulus to interneurons of the CNS in order to create a response to the stimulus through chemical synapse activity. An interneuron (also called association neuron, local circuit neuron or relay neuron) is a neuron which connects Afferent neurons and Efferent Chemical synapses are specialized junctions through which Neurons signal to each other and to non-neuronal cells such as those in Muscles or Glands Gray matter structures (cortex, deep nuclei) process information originating in the sensory organs or in other gray matter regions. Senses are the physiological methods of Perception. The senses and their operation classification and theory are overlapping topics studied by a variety of fields This information is conveyed via specialized nerve cell extensions (long axons), which form the bulk of the cerebral, cerebellar, and spinal white matter. An axon or nerve fiber is a long slender projectionof a nerve cell or Neuron, that conducts electrical impulses away from the neuron's Cell The brain is the center of the Nervous system in animals All Vertebrates and the majority of Invertebrates have a brain The cerebellum ( Latin: "little brain" is a region of the Brain that plays an important role in the integration of sensory perception The spinal cord is a long thin tubular bundle of Nerves that is an extension of the Central nervous system from the brain and is enclosed in and protected White matter is one of the three main solid components of the Central nervous system.

References

See also

• Gray matter heterotopia
• Neuropil
• Rexed laminae
• substantia nigra
• White matter

External links

• Gray+matter at eMedicine Dictionary