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Module 5
Nervous Tissue

Overview:

Nervous tissue is one of four major classes of tissues. It is specialized tissue

found in the central nervous system and the peripheral nervous system. It consists of
neurons and supporting cells called neuroglia. This is a group of organized cells in the
nervous system, which is the organ system that controls the body's movements, sends
and carries signals to and from the different parts of the body, and has a role in
controlling bodily functions such as digestion. Neurons, or nerves, transmit electrical
impulses, while neuroglia do not; neuroglia have many other functions including
supporting and protecting neurons.

Learning Objectives

By the end of this section, you will be able to:

1. Describe the characteristics of nervous tissue.

2. Describe the basic structure of a neuron
3. Identify the different types of neurons on the basis of polarity
4. List the glial cells of the CNS and describe their functions.

General Characteristics;

Nervous tissue is intimately associated with most tissues. The anatomical unit of
nervous tissue is the neuron. They are modified to received and transmit stimuli from
the internal and external environment, integrating and associating this information and
transmitting it to muscles and glands.

The properties of irritability and conductivity suit their tasks and their well-
developed cell processes, ensures contact throughout the body. These cell processes
are the anatomical bases for transmission. Intimate contact between neurons and cell
processes occurs through synapses

Neurons are intimately associated with other cells called neuroglia. Neuron and
neuroglia constitute nervous tissue. The neuroglia furnishes protection, nutrition and
structural integrity to nervous tissue.

Neurons

General Properties

 A neuron has a cell body and cell processes (dendrites and an axon). The
perikaryon is part of the cell body surrounding the nucleus. All nervous tissue
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components, with the exception of microgliocytes are derivatives of

neuroectoderm. Nervous tissue is modified epithelium.

Function of Nervous Tissue:

 Nervous tissue makes up the nervous system. The nervous system is subdivided
in several overlapping ways.
 The central nervous system (CNS) is composed of the brain and spinal cord,
which coordinates information from all areas of the body and sends nerve
impulses that control all bodily movements.
 The peripheral nervous system (PNS) consists of peripheral nerves that branch
all throughout the body. It connects the CNS to the rest of the body and is directly
responsible for controlling movements of specific parts of the body; for example,
just before arm movement the CNS sends nerve impulses to the PNS nerves in
the arm, which causes the arm to move.
 Another subdivision of the nervous system is into the sympathetic nervous
system (SNS) and the parasympathetic nervous system (PSNS).
 The SNS activates in order to stimulate a fight-or-flight response in
an organism when that organism encounters a threat and must decide whether to
fight or flee from it. The nerves of the SNS have diverse effects on different parts
of the body.
 Activation of the SNS causes the pupils of the eyes to dilate, inhibits digestion,
increases sweat secretion, and increases the heart rate.
 The PSNS is activated during moments of “rest and digest”, when an organism is
not facing an immediate threat. Nerves of the PSNS work to stimulate activities
that can occur at rest such as digestion, waste excretion, and sexual arousal,
and they also decrease the heart rate.
 The enteric nervous system (ENS) controls the gastrointestinal tract (digestive
tract). This division of the nervous system, along with the SNS and PSNS, are
collectively referred to as the autonomic nervous system (ANS). The ANS
regulates activities that are performed unconsciously; we don’t have to think
about digesting food for it to occur, for example.
 By contrast, the somatic nervous system (SNS) controls voluntary body
movements. It is made up of afferent and efferent nerves that send signals to and
from the CNS, causing voluntary muscle contraction to occur.

Types of Nervous Tissue

 Nervous tissue is composed of two types of cells, neurons and glial cells. Glial
cells, or glia, are known to play a supporting role for nervous tissue. Ongoing
research pursues an expanded role that glial cells might play in signaling, but
neurons are still considered the basis of this function. Neurons are important, but
without glial support they would not be able to perform their function.
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Neurons

 Neurons are the primary type of cell that most anyone associates with the
nervous system. They are responsible for the computation and communication
that the nervous system provides. They are electrically active and release
chemical signals to target cells.
 Neurons are cells that can transmit signals called nerve impulses, or action
potentials. An action potential is a quick rise and fall in the electrical membrane
potential of the neuron, which transmits signals from one neuron to the next.
These are the different types of neurons.
 Sensory, or afferent neurons, relay information from the PNS to the CNS;
different types of sensory neurons can detect temperature, pressure, and light.
 Motor, or efferent neurons, send signals from the CNS to the PNS; these signals
provide information to sensory neurons to “tell” them what to do (e.g., initiate
muscle movement).
 Interneurons connect sensory and motor neurons to the brain and spinal cord;
they act as connectors to form neural circuits and are involved with reflex actions
and higher brain functions like decision-making.
 While neurons can be specialized and look very different from one another, they
each have components in common. Each neuron has a soma, or cell body, that
contains the nucleus. Dendrites, finger-like projections that receive nerve
impulses, branch off from the soma. The axon is a larger projection that branches
off from the soma. Nerve impulses travel along the axon in the form of an action
potential. The axon splits into axon terminals, which branch off to other neurons.
Neurotransmitters are released from the ends of the axon terminals, and these
travel across the synaptic cleft to reach receptors on the dendrites of other
neurons.
 In this way, neurons communicate with each other and can send signals that
reach many other neurons.
 Neurons are the cells considered to be the basis of nervous tissue. They are
responsible for the electrical signals that communicate information about
sensations, and that produce movements in response to those stimuli, along with
inducing thought processes within the brain. An important part of the function of
neurons is in their structure, or shape. The three-dimensional shape of these
cells makes the immense numbers of connections within the nervous system
possible.
 The cell body contains the nucleus and most of the major organelles. But what
makes neurons special is that they have many extensions of their cell
membranes, which are generally referred to as processes. Neurons are usually
described as having one, and only one, axon—a fiber that emerges from the cell
body and projects to target cells. That single axon can branch repeatedly to
communicate with many target cells. It is the axon that propagates the nerve
impulse, which is communicated to one or more cells. Information flows through
a neuron from the dendrites, across the cell body, and down the axon. This gives
the neuron a polarity—meaning that information flows in this one direction. Figure
1 shows the relationship of these parts to one another.
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Figure 1. Parts of a Neuron. The major parts of the neuron are labeled on a multipolar
neuron from the CNS.

 Where the axon emerges from the cell body, there is a special region referred to
as the axon hillock. This is a tapering of the cell body toward the axon fiber.
Within the axon hillock, the cytoplasm changes to a solution of limited
components called axoplasm. Because the axon hillock represents the
beginning of the axon, it is also referred to as the initial segment.

 Many axons are wrapped by an insulating substance called myelin, which is

actually made from glial cells. Myelin acts as insulation much like the plastic or
rubber that is used to insulate electrical wires. A key difference between myelin
and the insulation on a wire is that there are gaps in the myelin covering of an
axon. Each gap is called a node of Ranvier and is important to the way that
electrical signals travel down the axon. The length of the axon between each
gap, which is wrapped in myelin, is referred to as an axon segment. At the end
of the axon is the axon terminal, where there are usually several branches
extending toward the target cell, each of which ends in an enlargement called
a synaptic end bulb. These bulbs are what make the connection with the target
cell at the synapse.
Neuroglia/Glial cells

 Neuroglia, or glial cells, are cells that support neurons, supply them with
nutrients, and get rid of dead cells and pathogens such as bacteria. They also
form insulation between neurons so that electrical signals do not get crossed,
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and can also aid the formation of synaptic connections between neurons. There
are several types of neuroglia:

 Astroglial cells, also called astrocytes, are star-shaped cells found in the brain and spinal
cord. They provide nutrients to neurons, maintain ion balance, and remove unneeded
excess neurotransmitters from the synaptic cleft.
 Ependymal cells are also found in the CNS. There are two types of ependymal cells.
Non-ciliated ependymal cells form cerebrospinal fluid, while ciliated ependymal cells
help the cerebrospinal fluid circulate. Cerebrospinal fluid cushions the brain and spinal
cord.
 Oligodendrocytes are found in the CNS and provide physical support to neurons. They
form a myelin sheath around some neurons in the CNS. The myelin sheath is a fatty
substance wrapped around the axons of some neurons; it provides electrical insulation.
 Schwann cells also form myelin sheaths around some neurons, but they are only found in
the PNS. Neurons that are myelinated can conduct electrical impulses faster than non-
myelinated neurons.
 Microglial cells, or microglia, are small macrophage cells in the CNS that protect against
disease by engulfing pathogens through phagocytosis (“cell eating”). They can also
destroy infected neurons and promote the regrowth of neurons. All of the other types of
neuroglia above are larger and collectively called macroglia.

This diagram shows the two types of cells, neurons and neuroglia, that make up nervous tissue.

 Glial cells, or neuroglia or simply glia, are the other type of cell found in
nervous tissue. They are considered to be supporting cells, and many functions
are directed at helping neurons complete their function for communication.
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 The name glia comes from the Greek word that means “glue,” and was coined
by the German pathologist Rudolph Virchow, who wrote in 1856: “This
connective substance, which is in the brain, the spinal cord, and the special
sense nerves, is a kind of glue (neuroglia) in which the nervous elements are
planted.”

 Today, research into nervous tissue has shown that there are many deeper roles
that these cells play. And research may find much more about them in the
future There are six types of glial cells. Four of them are found in the CNS and
two are found in the PNS. Table 2 outlines some common characteristics and
functions.

Glial Cell Types by Location and Basic Function (Table 2)

CNS glia PNS glia Basic function
Astrocyte Satellite cell Support
Oligodendrocyte Schwann cell Insulation, myelination
Immune surveillance and
Microglia
phagocytosis
Ependymal cell Creating CSF

 There are six types of glial cells. Four of them are found in the CNS and two
are found in the PNS. Table 2 outlines some common characteristics and
functions.
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Related Biology Terms

 Tissue – An organized group of cells that carries out a certain function.

 Nervous system – The organ system responsible for controlling and coordinating
body movements and functions.
 Action potential – A sudden rise and fall in the electrical membrane potential of a
neuron that leads to a signal being transmitted to other neurons or the target body
organ.
 Synapse – A small gap between two nerve cells that neurotransmitters travel across.

Assessment Task 5.1

1. Describe the general characteristics of neuron?
2. List down and characterized the different classification of neurons..
3. Draw and label the cell body compnents

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