1.1.16

Nerve Cells

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Nerve Cell (Neurone)

Nerve cells (or neurones) are specialised to transmit electrical messages around the body. Some key features are:

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Axon

  • Part of the cell that electrical signals travel along.
  • Nerve cells have a long axon. This increases the distance that electrical signals can travel.
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Myelin sheath

  • A sheath made of a material called myelin surrounds the axon of the nerve cell. This stops the electrical nerve signals leaking out of the nerve cell.
  • This increases the speed of transmission (travel) of electrical signals.
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Dendrites

  • Branches of a nerve cell.
  • Several dendrites spread outwards from the cell body to transfer electrical messages to other neurons.
  • Electrical messages travel between neurons at synapses.

Jump to other topics

1Cell Biology

1.1What's in Cells?

1.2Cell Division

1.3Transport in Cells

2Organisation

2.1Principles of Organisation

2.2Enzymes

2.3Circulatory System

2.4Non-Communicable Diseases

2.5Plant Tissues, Organs & Systems

3Infection & Response

4Bioenergetics

5Homeostasis & Response

5.1Homeostasis

5.2The Human Nervous System

5.3Hormonal Coordination in Humans

5.4Plant Hormones

6Inheritance, Variation & Evolution

7Ecology

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