THE NERVE CELL

A neuron also known as nerve cell or neurone is the basic functional and
fundamental unit of the nervous system. It is a highly specialized structure that
functions to transmit neural impulses in the form of action potentials to and from
different parts of the body.
NEURON STRICTURE
The structure of a neuron is divided into three main parts.
1. Cell body
2. Dendrites
3. Axon
CELL BODY
The cell body or soma of the neuron contains the nucleus and every other typical
intercellular organelle found in an animal cell i.e. it has golgi apparatus,
mitochondria, smooth endoplasmic reticulum, rough endoplasmic reticulum,
cytoplasm, etc. It also processes incoming information from the dendrites.
DENDRITES
They are neuron cell body extensions that resemble tree branches. They conduct
nerve signals from other neurons and sometimes function to receive the actual
stimulus.
AXON
An extension of the neuron cell body that forms a long narrow structure that
transmits electrical impulses to other cells. At the end of this long narrow structure,
it branches out like a tree to form the axon terminal which conducts the neural
impulse to other neural cells through a synapse or to muscle fibers through a
neuromuscular junction, and so on. The axon contains many structures as well; the
axon hillock, axon terminal, nodes of Ranvier, myelin sheaths, Schwann cells, and
others, but these are the basic structures.

The Schwann cell is essential in the maintenance of the peripheral nervous system
(PNS). These cells are derived from neural crest cells and exist in two types -
myelinating and non-myelinating Schwann cells. Both types play a vital role in
sustaining and regenerating the axons of the neurons in the PNS.
The myelinated sheath or myelin sheath form as the result of reciprocal
interactions between axons and Schwann cells. The glial Schwann cells secrete a
lipid substance myelin which forms the myelin sheath. Extrinsic signals from the
axon, and the extracellular matrix, drive Schwann cells to adopt a myelinating fate,
whereas myelination reorganizes the axon for its role in conduction and is essential
for its integrity.
Myelin sheaths perform the following functions
The fatty-protein coating surrounding a nerve cell provides insulation, protecting
the cell. This allows electrical impulses to travel efficiently from one nerve cell to
the next, while maintaining the strength of the impulse message as it travels down
the axon.
Nodes of Ranvier
The myelin sheath of the Schwann cell does not cover the entire body of the axon-
there a small space in between each individual cell known s as nodes of Ranvier, it
allows impulses to be transmitted quickly and efficiently along the nerve cell this
increased speed is due to the fact that action potential is only generated or
transmitted to the internodes and does not travel entirely along the body of the
axon
Axon hillock
The axon hillock is a crucial site where the cell body and the axon meet, it is
described as the conical projection of the neuron that connects the cell body. For an
action potential to travel along the axon, the change in membrane potential caused
by incoming signals (or depolarizations along the dendrites) must reach the
'threshold potential' at the axon hillock. The neuronal action potential is triggered
and generated here.
Axon terminal
An axon terminal contains many vesicles filled with neurotransmitters which are
released into the synaptic cleft (junction or space between two neurons) or
neuromuscular junction (space between neuron and muscle fiber) which allows the
neuron to conduct electrical impulses down to another neuron or another type of
cell by the release of signals into the synapse.
Not all the nerve cells in the human body look alike, though they all bear the same
parts their form/structure define their function because of this characteristic,
neurons can be classified into the following categories.
 Based on structure they can be classified into;
1. Unipolar neurons
2. Bipolar neurons
3. Multipolar neurons
4. Pseudounipolar neurons
Based on function there are three types of neurons
1. Motor neurons
2. Interneurons
3. Efferent neurons
UNIPOLAR NEURONS
Unipolar neurons are neurons that have only one extension also known as a process
from their nerve cell bodies or soma. The extension is called a neurite it extends to
form the dendritic branches and axon fibres.

In unipolar neurons the length of the axonal processes is longer, and that of the
dendritic branches varies.

They are generally sensory or afferent neurons. They have their cell bodies located
in the spinal a d cranial nerve ganglia.

BIPOLAR NEURONS
They have two processes one dendrite process and one axon that extends from their
cell body. They are relatively rare and usually function as specialized sensory
nerve cells for the transmission of sense thus they are mostly found in the sensory
pathways for smell, sight. taste, hearing, touch, balance and proprioception. (i.e. as
olfactory receptor neurons and bipolar cells of the vertebrate retina.)
PSEUDONEURONS
Pseudo-unipolar neurons begin as bipolar cells and eventually undergo a process
where the two processes extending from the cell body merge into a single neurite.
The axon then divides into two branches. They resemble unipolar neurons because
they have an axon and no true dendrites though their structure appears bipolar. It is
a type of sensory neuron found in the dorsal root ganglia of the vertebrate spinal
cord is known as pseudo-unipolar because it has a single process that splits into
two branches. One branch connects to sensory receptors in the skin, joints, and
muscle, while the other connects to the spinal cord.
MULTIPOLAR NEURONS
Multipolar neurons are neurons that have multiple dendritic processes and a single
axon that extends from the cell body. They are the most common type of neurons
and form the autonomic ganglia.
They constitute the majority of the neurons found in the CNS, they include motor
neurons and interneurons.
MOTOR NEURONS
Motor neurons, also called efferent neurons, are nerve cells that have their cell
body located in the motor cortex, brain stem or spinal cord. These cells integrate
signals from the central nervous system (CNS) and help us move, speak, swallow,
and breathe by sending commands from the brain to the muscles, or effector organ
that carry out these functions. The nerve fibers of motor neurons are the longest in
the body, and a single axon can stretch from the base of the spinal cord all the way
to the toes. They have the most common body plan i.e. they are multipolar
structured neurons. They also have a short dendrite and long axon
INTERNEURONS
These neurons also known as association neurons are found exclusively in the
CNS. They are the most abundant type of the three major neurons making up
almost 99% of the amount of neurons in the body. This abundance of interneurons
is due to the complexity of integrating the sensory and motor segments of the
nervous system and the diversity of functions that exist in the brain and spinal
cord. They are multipolar and function to connect sensory and motor neurons
together as well as other interneurons. They have short dendrites and may have
either a short or long axon.
SENSORY NEURONS
Also known as afferent neurons are activated by sensory input and interpret stimuli
from the internal e.g high blood pressure, inflammation and external pain,
temperature, etc. environment that exist in several forms and communicate this in
the form of an impulse which is transmitted to the CNS. All sensory neurons make
up the peripheral nervous system. Most of the sensory neurons in the human body
are pseudounipolar but, unipolar and bipolar types can also be sensory neurons.