Central Nervous System (CNS)

An Assistant of the Department of Human anatomy and histology

Shchubelka Chrystyna,
prof. Нetsko O.I.
• The CNS consists of the brain (encephalon), which
is enclosed in the skull, and the spinal cord, which is
contained within the vertebral canal.
• Nervous tissue of the CNS does not contain
connective tissue other than that in the three
meninges and in the walls of large blood vessels.
Collagenous fibers or fibrocytes/blasts are
consequently not observed, which is quite unlike other
tissues. Because of the absence of connective tissue,
fresh CNS tissue has a very soft, somewhat jelly-like
consistency. The two major classes of cells that make
up the nervous tissue are nerve cells, neurones, and
supporting cells, glia.
 Astrocytes (or astroglia) are star-shaped cells. Their
CNS tissue cont ai ns sev eral t y pes of non-neuronal, supporting cells, neuroglia.

processes are often in contact with a blood vessel

(perivascular foot processes). Astrocytes provide
mechanical and metabolic support to the neurones of the
CNS. They participate in the maintenance of the
composition of the extracellular fluid. Although not
themselves directly involved in the process of
communication between neurones, they may be involved
in the removal of transmitters from synapses and the
metabolism of transmitters. Astrocytes are also the scar-
forming cells of the CNS.
Oligodendrocytes (or oligoglia) have fewer and
shorter processes. Oligodendrocytes form myelin
sheath (see below) around axons in the CNS and are
the functional homologue of peripheral Schwann cells.
Oligodendrocytes may, in contrast to Schwann cells in
the periphery, form parts of the myelin sheath
around several axons.
Microglia are small cells with complex
shapes. Microglia are, in contrast to
neurones and the other types of glial
cells, of mesodermal origin. They are
derived from the cell line which also
gives rise to monocytes, i.e. macrophage
precursors which circulate in the blood
stream. In the case of tissue damage,
microglia can proliferate and differentiate
into phagocytotic cells.
• The ventricles of the brain and the central canal of the
spinal cord are lined with ependymal cells. The cells
are often cilated and form a simple cuboidal or low
columnar epithelium. The lack of tight junctions
between ependymal cells allows a free exchange
between cerebrospinal fluid and nervous tissue.
Ependymal cells can specialise into tanycytes, which
are rarely ciliated and have long basal processes.
Tanycytes form the ventricular lining over the few CNS
regions in which the blood-brain barrier is incomplete.
They do form tight junctions and control the exchange
of substances between these regions and surrounding
nervous tissue or cerebrospinal fluid.