A2 Level Biology

Coordination-Lecture 2
By Muhammad Ishaq Khan
Myelin sheath
• Inside a nerve there are many parallel
running neurons and in sensory nerve as
well as motor nerves, the axons of
neurons are well protected by myelin
sheath. Inside a nerve full of neurons, if
seen in a cross-section, most of the
neurons are surrounded by thick dark
rings of myelin, which is made and
secreted by specialized cells, called
Schwann cells. Some axons are
myelinated while others are also non-
myelinated.
Myelin sheath
• About 2/3 of our motor and sensory
neurons are non-myelinated. In
myelinated neurons, Schwann cells
wrap around the axons all along their
length. The Schwann cell spirals
around, enclosing the axon in many
layers of its cell surface membrane.
This enclosing sheath is called myelin
sheath made up of largely some
special lipids and some proteins.
Myelin sheath
• Myelin sheath affects the speed at which impulses are
conducted along membranes of neurons. There are small
uncovered areas between myelinated parts of axon, which are
known as nodes of Ranvier. They occur about every 1-3 mm in
human neurons while nodes are themselves very small in
length, 2-3 um. Impulses jump from node to node thus
increasing the speed of nerve impulses.
Reflex arc
• A sensory neurone, a relay neurone and a motor neurone work
together to bring about a response to a stimulus. A reflex arc is
the pathway along which impulses are passed from receptor to
an effector during an involuntary action (when conscious regions
of brain are not involved ). Most of the reflex actions involve
spinal cord while in some brain is involved.
Reflex arc
• Structure of a reflex arc from a neurone to neurone in a spinal
cord is shown in following figure:
Reflex arc
• In some reflex arcs, relay neurone is absent and impulse is directly
transmitted between sensory and motor neurone. Some of the reflex
arcs in brain control focusing and passage of light entering the eye.
• Within the spinal cord, impulse is passed on to other neurons which
carry it from spinal cord to brain. This happens at the same time
when impulses are travelling along the motor neurone to effectors.
The effector, therefore, responds to the stimulus before there is any
voluntary response from conscious region of brain. Such an action or
response is called reflex action. It is like an automatic response due
to a stimulus. Reflex actions are taken in emergency situation like
when there is a danger signal. One example is touch of a hot object
on skin and reflex action is withdrawal of hand immediately.