What Is The Purpose Of Nerve Tissue – Although the nervous system is very complex, there are only two main types of cells in nervous tissue. The actual nerve cell is the neuron. It is the “conducting” cell that transmits impulses and the structural unit of the nervous system. The other type of cell is neuroglia or glial cells. The word “neuroglia” means “nervous glue.” These cells are non-conductive and provide a support system for neurons. It is a special type of “connective tissue” of the nervous system.

Nerve cells, or nerve cells, carry out the functions of the nervous system by conducting nerve impulses. They are very specialized and ametotic. This means that if a nerve cell is destroyed, it cannot be replaced because neurons do not undergo mitosis. The image below shows the structure of a typical neuron.

What Is The Purpose Of Nerve Tissue

In many respects, the cell body is similar to other cell types. It has a nucleus containing at least one nucleolus and contains several typical cytoplasmic organelles. However, it lacks centrioles. Since centrioles function in cell division, the fact that neurons lack these organelles is consistent with the amitotic nature of the cell.

Describe The Structure Function And Location Of The Nervous Tissue

Dendrites and axons are cytoplasmic extensions or processes that emerge from the cell body. It is sometimes referred to as fibre. Dendrites are usually, but not always, short and branched, which increases their surface area to receive signals from other neurons. The number of dendrites on a neuron varies. These processes are called afferent processes because they transmit impulses to the nerve cell body. There is only one axon radiating from each cell body. They are usually rectangular, and because they carry impulses away from the cell body, they are called an efferent process.

The axon may contain rare branches called axon collaterals. Axons and axonal collaterals terminate in numerous short branches or telodendria. The distal ends of the teloid dendrites are slightly enlarged to form synaptic follicles. Many axons are surrounded by a white, segmented fatty substance called myelin or myelin sheath. Myelinated fibers make up the white matter of the central nervous system, while cell bodies and unmyelinated fibers make up the gray matter. The unmyelinated areas between pieces of myelin are called nodes of Ranvier.

In the peripheral nervous system, myelin is produced by Schwann cells. The cytoplasm, nucleus, and outer cell membrane of the Schwann cell form a tight covering around the myelin and around the axon itself at the nodes of Ranvier. This covering is the neuroma, which plays an important role in regenerating nerve fibers. In the central nervous system, oligodendrocytes produce myelin, but there is no neuralgia, which is why fibers do not regenerate within the central nervous system.

Functionally, neurons are classified as afferent, efferent, or interneurons (association neurons) according to the direction in which they transmit impulses relative to the central nervous system. Afferent or sensory neurons carry impulses from peripheral sensation receptors to the central nervous system. They usually have long dendrites and relatively short axons. Efferent or motor neurons transmit impulses from the central nervous system to responding organs such as muscles and glands. Efferent neurons usually have short dendrites and long axons. Interneurons, or association neurons, are located entirely within the central nervous system where they form the link between afferent and efferent neurons. They have short dendrites and may have a short or long axon.

Peripheral Neuropathy: What It Is, Symptoms & Treatment

Neuroglia do not conduct nerve impulses, but instead support, nourish and protect neurons. They are much more numerous than nerve cells and, unlike nerve cells, are able to divide.

Schwannomas are benign tumors of the peripheral nervous system that usually occur in their solitary, sporadic form in normal individuals. Rarely, individuals will develop multiple schwannomas arising from one or more components of the peripheral nervous system.

Commonly known as Morton’s neuroma, this problem is a fairly common benign nerve growth that begins when the outer covering of the nerve in your foot becomes thick. This thickening is caused by irritation of the branches of the medial and lateral plantar nerves that results when two bones rub together repeatedly. Nervous tissue is characterized by being excitable and capable of sending and receiving electrochemical signals that provide the body with information. Two main classes of cells make up nervous tissue: neurons and neuroglia (Figure 4.5.1 Neurons). Neurons spread information via electrochemical impulses, called action potentials, which are chemically linked to the release of chemical signals. Neuroglia play an essential role in supporting neurons.

Figure 4.5.1 – Nerve cell: The body of a nerve cell, also called the soma, contains the nucleus and mitochondria. Dendrites transmit the nerve impulse to the soma. The axon carries the action potential away to another excitable cell (LM × 1600). (Photograph courtesy of the Regents of the University of Michigan Medical School © 2012)

Pdf] Neural Tissue Engineering Options For Peripheral Nerve Regeneration.

Follow this link to learn more about nervous tissue. What are the main parts of a nerve cell?

Neurons display a distinctive morphology, well suited to their role as conducting cells, and are composed of three main parts. The cell body includes most of the cytoplasm, organelles, and nucleus. Dendrites, which receive input from other neurons, branch off from the cell body and appear as thin extensions. A long axon extends from the cell body and may be wrapped in an insulating layer known as myelin, which is made up of accessory cells. Axons transmit electrical signals that travel away from the cell body. A synapse is the gap between neurons, or between a neuron and its target. The signal is transmitted across the synapse by chemical compounds known as neurotransmitters. Neurons classified as multipolar neurons have several dendrites and one prominent axon. Bipolar neurons have dendrites and a single axon with the cell body, while unipolar neurons have only one process extending from the cell body, which divides into functional dendrites and into a functional axon. When a neuron is sufficiently stimulated, it generates an action potential that propagates down the axon toward the synapse. If enough neurotransmitters are released into the synapse to stimulate the next nerve cell (or muscle or gland), a response is generated.

The second category of neurons are neuroglia or glial cells, which are characterized by having a simple supportive role. The word “glia” comes from the Greek word meaning glue. Recent research sheds light on the more complex role of neuroglia in brain and nervous system function. Astrocytes, named for their distinctive star shape, are abundant in the central nervous system. Astrocytes have many functions, including regulating the concentration of ions in the intercellular space, absorbing and/or breaking down certain neurotransmitters, and forming the blood-brain barrier, the membrane that separates the circulatory system from the brain. Microglia protect the nervous system from infection and associate with macrophages. Oligodendrocytes produce myelin in the central nervous system (brain and spinal cord) while Schwann cells produce myelin in the peripheral nervous system (Figure 4.5.2 Nervous tissue).

Figure 4.5.2 – Nervous Tissue: Nervous tissue consists of neurons and neuroglia. Nerve tissue cells are specialized in transmitting and receiving impulses (LM × 872). (Photograph courtesy of the Regents of the University of Michigan Medical School © 2012)

How Pieces Of Live Human Brain Are Helping Scientists Map Nerve Cells

The most prominent cell in nervous tissue, the neuron, is characterized mainly by its ability to receive and respond to stimuli by generating an electrical signal, known as an action potential, which can travel rapidly over large distances in the body. A typical neuron displays a distinctive shape: the large cell body branches into short extensions called dendrites, which receive chemical signals from other neurons, and a long tail called an axon, which transmits signals away from the cell to neurons, muscles, or other cells. Glands. Many axons are wrapped in myelin sheath, a fat derivative that acts as insulation and facilitates the transmission of action potentials. Other cells in nervous tissue, neuroglia, include astrocytes, microglia, oligodendrocytes, and Schwann cells.

Neurons are well suited to transmit nerve impulses because the short extensions, the dendrites, receive impulses from other neurons, while the long tail extension, the axon, carries electrical impulses away from the cell to other neurons.

Astrocytes regulate ions, uptake and/or degradation of certain neurotransmitters and contribute to the formation of the blood-brain barrier.

Stern, P. The focus issue: excitement about microglial cells. Science [Internet]. 2010 [cited 4 December 2012]; 3(147):330-773. Available from:

Central Nervous System

Ming GL, Song H. Adult neurogenesis in the mammalian central nervous system. Anu. Rev. Neuroski. 2005 [cited 4 December 2012]; 28:223-250.

This work, Anatomy and Physiology, is adapted from Anatomy and Physiology by Stax, licensed under CC BY. This edition, with revised content and artwork, is licensed under CC BY-SA unless otherwise noted.

Anatomy & Physiology Copyright © 2019 by Lindsay M. Biga, Staci Bronson, Sierra Dawson, Amy Harwell, Robin Hopkins, Joel Kaufmann, Mike LeMaster, Philip Matern, Katie Morrison-Graham, Kristen Oja, Devon Quick, Jon Runyeon , OSU OERU, and Stax are licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License, except where otherwise noted. After considering the components of nervous tissue and the basic anatomy of the nervous system, next comes an understanding of how nervous tissue is able to communicate within the nervous system. Before arriving

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