Divisions of Nervous System Location in Body

Peripheral Nervous System – Nerve fibers

– Ganglia (nerve cell bodies)

Central Nervous System – Brain and spinal cord

• Nuclei (not cell nucleus) which contains
nerve cell bodies
• Separated into:
– White matter (axons, dendrites
and glial cells) - fat
– Grey matter (neurons and their
processes and glial cells)

Enteric Nervous System - Digestive System

Divisions of The Nervous Tissue

Peripheral Nervous Tissue

Type Function
Neuron Transmit Impulses
Neuroglial Cells Support and Protect the neuron
Schwan Cells Insulate the axons in the PNS

Neurons
Name Description Picture
Bipolar One axon
and One
densrite

Unipolar One axon

divided into
two
branches
Multipolar One axon
multiple
dendrites

Neurons
Name Function
Motor Impulse travels from CNS to effector cells like
muscles
Impulse travels from dendrites to cell body to axon

Sensory Impulse travels from receptors to CNS

Unipolar (usually)

Interneurons Impulse travels from sensory to motor neurons

Neuron Cells
Cell Name Description
Axon  Conducts impulse away from the cell body
 Normally a single process
- Arises at axon hillock
 Vary from <1 mm to >1 metre in length
 Occasionally display right angeled side
branches: collaterals
 Distal portion expands to form synaptic end
bulb: terminal bouton
 Materials move from cell body to terminals:
anterograde flow
- Some on opposite direction: retrograde
flow
Cell Body Nucleus
 Large, rounded, pale staining with
prominent nucleolus
Cytoplasm
 Highly developed RER and numerous
ribosome clusters
 Nissl bodies
Neurofibril
 Occur in cytoplasm and extend into axon,
dendrites
 Consist of neurofilaments (10nm diameter
 intermediate type)
Cytoplasmic Inclusions
 Lipofuscin: yellowishpigment which
accumulates with age
 Melanin: brown/black pigment found in
some neurons
Numerous small mitochondria, large Golgi
complexes, lysosomes

Dendrites  Generally occur in large numbers and

branch repeatedly forming “arborisations”
 Contain all cytoplasmic organelles (except
Golgi)
 Covered by dendritic spines (1-3um long, 1
um diameter)
- Specialized regions of synaptic contact
- Display “plasticity” – changes that
underlie memory, learning
 Primary activity – signal reception
- conduct impulses towards cell body

Neuroglial Cells
Name Description Picture
Astrocytes  Large, rounded, pale, staining
nuclei
 Numerous cytoplasmic processes
which connect with blood vessels
and neurons
- vascular/ end feet
 Processes virtually completely
cover all blood vessels
- contribute to regulation of
blood-tissue interchange
 Intermediate filamints consisting
of glial fibrillary acidic protein
- Forms: protoplasmic: many
short, branched processes,
occur in grey matter
- Fibrous: few long, thin
processes, branch
frequently, mainly in white
matter
Oligodendrocytes  Relatively smaller, nuclei moe
intensily stained
 Occur in grey and white matter
 Few shorter processes
 Form myelin in CNS (each cell
provides myelin for several axons)

Microglia  Small cells with densely

staining nuclei
 Occur in both grey and white
matter
 Originate from blood
monocytes
- Phagocytic cells

Non activated ^

Activated

Myelin and Nerve Fibers  Axons are cove red by spiraling

layers of phospholipid
- Myelin Sheath
Development of myelin sheath
 Produced by:
- Schwann cells in PNS
- Oligodendrocyted in CNS
 These spiral around the axon
- Jelly roll hypothesis
 Thickness of sheath depends
on the number of spirals