Question

Make a sketch of human nerve cell. What function do nerve cells perform ?

Answer 1

Structure of the neuron:

1. Nervous system is made up of specialized cells called the neurons.
   
2. They are the structural and functional elements that help in the coordination of the body activities.
   
3. They are specialized to perform conduction and respond to stimuli.
4. They function by transmitting nerve impulses among themselves.
5. They have three distinct parts, including a cell body, axon, and dendrites.

Dendrites:

1. A branch-like structure that functions by receiving messages from other neurons and allows the transmission of messages to the cell body.
2. Dendritic ends of one neuron receive the electrical impulses from the axonal ends of another neuron and transmit them to the cell body.

Cell Body:

1. Each neuron has a cell body with a nucleus, Golgi apparatus, endoplasmic reticulum, mitochondria and other components.
2. Cell body receives the electrical impulse from the dendrites.

Axon:

1. Axon is a tube-like structure that functions by carrying an electrical impulse from the cell body to the axon terminals for passing the impulse to another neuron.
   
2. Axon is the longest single extension of neurons that carries the nerve impulses via nerve endings.

Synapse:

1. Synapses are the nerve endings of neurons where the neural impulses are transmitted between each neuron.
   
2. They contain a pre-synaptic ending, a synaptic cleft, and a post-synaptic ending.
3. The neurotransmitters thus produced in the neuron, cross the synaptic cleft and bind to receptors in the postsynaptic ending.
4. They then stimulate an action potential in the postsynaptic neuron.