Neurons and Its Parts

How well do you recall the location of your body? The truth is that your brain is in charge of your body. It runs the show and manages almost all of your actions, even while you sleep.

Animals use their senses to gather information about their surroundings. The nervous system is a network of nerves and the brain. The nerve cell is a type of cell that sends and receives messages from the body to the brain and back. A weak electrical current transmits the messages. The body's nerves pick up the information. The brain processes the information, instructing it on how to respond.

Nerve cell diagrams are also illustrated below for your better understanding. You can find more information in this article as you read it further.

Parts of a Neuron

The brain is composed of approximately 86 billion nerve cells (also called "neurons"). A neuron is made up of four basic components: Dendrites, the cell body (also known as the "soma"), the axon, and the axon terminal.

• Dendrites: Dendrites are neuron cell body extensions that carry information to the cell body. Dendrites typically branch near the cell body.

• The Cell Body: The cell body (soma) is the portion of the cell that houses the nucleus.

• Axon: A neuron cell body extension that transports information away from the cell body. A single axon emerges from the cell body.

• Axon Terminal: Axon terminal is the end of an axon that makes a synaptic connection with another cell. The nerve cell diagram is shown below to understand the neuron parts better.

Nerve Cell

Function of Neurons

Neurons (also known as neurones or nerve cells) are the basic units of the brain and nervous system, responsible for receiving sensory input from the outside world, sending motor commands to our muscles, and transforming and relaying electrical signals at every step in between.

Types of Neurons

There are three types of neurons: Sensory, Motor, and Interneurons.

Sensory Neurons

Sensory neurons send information to the central nervous system from sensory receptors (such as those in the skin, eyes, nose, tongue, and ears).

Motor Neurons

Motor (or efferent) neurons send information toward the muscles or glands from the central nervous system.

Motor Nerve

Interneurons 

Interneurons transmit data between sensory and motor neurons. The central nervous system contains the majority of interneurons.

Interneuron

Summary

The brain is in charge of all bodily functions. The spinal cord connects the brain to the back of the body. It is made up of threadlike nerves that connect to every organ and body part. This network of nerves relays messages from the brain to various parts of the body.

Neurons are the cells of the nervous system. They are composed of three distinct parts: a cell body, an axon, and dendrites. These components aid in the transmission and reception of chemical and electrical signals. While there are billions of neurons and thousands of different types of neurons, they can be divided into three functional groups: motor neurons, sensory neurons, and interneurons.