Nervous System, Anterior View

Description

Running from the cranial vault to the sacral canal, the central nervous system is presented as the brain continuous with the spinal cord, with paired spinal nerves exiting segmentally to form the peripheral nervous system across the full body. Cervical roots converge laterally into the brachial plexus before distributing into major upper-limb nerves, while thoracic spinal nerves track as intercostal nerves along the posterolateral thoracic wall. Inferiorly, lumbar and sacral roots contribute to the lumbosacral plexus, with long peripheral trunks extending distally into the lower limb toward the sciatic, tibial, and common fibular territories. Grey matter of the encephalon contrasts with yellow neural elements to keep the midline axis and the widespread somatic and autonomic outflow visually separable. This whole-body nervous system view matters when you need to connect a focal neurologic deficit to its most likely level, from a cervical radiculopathy pattern in the upper limb to lumbosacral radicular pain tracking into the leg. Plexus organization is the teaching hinge: root lesions follow dermatomes, but plexus or peripheral nerve injuries follow named-nerve distributions, a distinction that guides electrodiagnostic testing and imaging selection. Autonomic fibers traveling with peripheral nerves also explain mixed symptoms such as anhidrosis or vasomotor change after nerve trauma. Localization is the point. Use this artwork in gross anatomy and neuroanatomy courses to map spinal cord segments to peripheral nerves, in neurology and physical medicine publications illustrating radiculopathy versus mononeuropathy patterns, and in patient-facing surgical consents for procedures where nerve injury is a known risk, including thyroidectomy, axillary dissection, or total hip arthroplasty. Anatomical accuracy verified by SciePro's Medical Advisory Board.