Nervous System – General

Nervous System Structure

cells, tissues and organs of body are all working
for organisms survival every cell in our body responds to stimuli by
changing its metabolism in one way or another
need to integrate all body activities for homeostasis
but cells of the nervous system are highly specialized
need good communication and control: for receiving stimuli and conducting impulses to
various parts of the body
Nervous System
Neuroendocrine
Endocrine System in humans, these nerve cells have become organized
into the most complex and least understood of
System
the body’s systems
receptor  integration  effector
CNS: brain PNS: cranial nerves
spinal cord spinal
General Functions of the Nervous System
nerves
1. receive and process sensory information
two major cell/tissue types in Nervous System:
from internal and external environment
neurons – long thin fibers used for impulse
2. maintain homeostasis by transmitting the
conduction (ie communication)
appropriate responses through muscles and glands
communicate between cells at special
3. Integrate rapid reflex responses with
connections called synapses
slower hormonal responses
by:
4. generate complex neural pathways of all electrochemical impulses (=nerve impulses)
higher brain functions:
cell-to-cell chemicals (=neurotransmitters)
self awareness
thinking, learning ~87 Billion neurons
speech, communication
emotions stretched end to end they would circle the globe 4 x’s
Anatomy & Physiology I: Nervous System – General Ziser (170,000 km)
Lecture Notes 2016.3
Anatomy & Physiology I: Nervous System – General Ziser Lecture Notes 2016.3

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all neurons have cell body and 1 or more processes

10 14 synapses (100 trillion)

generally no mitosis cell body:

neuroglia (=glial cells) – support, contains: most cytoplasm

nucleus
protection, insulation, aid in function of most organelles
neurons no centrioles (don’t divide)
neurofibrils
[need specialized cells because of unique sensitivity of
neurons to their environment] processes:
10 times more neuroglia cells than neurons
two types; axons and dendrites
some mitosis
Dendrites
Neurons
shorter;
highly specialized to:
branching
respond to stimuli
conduct messages in
the form of nerve receptor regions
impulses
 each neuron receives info from dozens to 10’s of
1000’s of other neurons
generally don’t divide
after birth specialized for information collection
(eg. dendritic spines)

live up to 100 years

thinly insulated
very high metabolic rate:
convey messages toward cell body
require glucose,
= graded potentials (not nerve impulses)
can’t use alternate
fuels
large surface area for reception of signals
from other neurons
require lots of O2 – only aerobic metabolism
can’t survive more than a few minutes without Anatomy & Physiology I: Nervous System – General Ziser Lecture Notes 2016.3

O2 4

Anatomy & Physiology I: Nervous System – General Ziser Lecture Notes 2016.3
 contain all organelles (except nucleus) as in cell body CNS PNS
Axons Tracts Nerves
Axons Cell Bodies Nuclei Ganglia

each neuron has a single axon neurons can be classified by:

long, slender process 1. function

2. structure (# of processes)
up to 3-4 feet long (eg. motor neuron of toe)
1. Neurons by Function
axons may give off a few collateral branches
(=axon collaterals)
a. interneurons (association)
sometimes with branching axon collaterals in CNS – make up the brain and spinal cord
where integration occurs
thick insulation 99% of neurons in body
lots of variation in structure
at terminus, axon branches profusely
(up to 10,000 branches) b. sensory neurons (afferent)
in PNS only, almost all are unipolar, a few are bipolar
each branch ends in enlarged bulb
= synaptic knob (=axonal terminal) c. motor neurons (efferent)
has all organelles except rough ER in PNS only
 gets proteins via microtubules and multipolar
microfilaments (cytoskeleton) all cell bodies of somatic and some autonomic are inside
CNS
difference between
nerve and neuron: 2. Structure

neuron = individual a. unipolar (=pseudounipolar)

nerve cell
single short process that splits into two longer
processes that together act as an axon
nerve = bundle of axons outside CNS surrounded
by layers of connective tissue originate as bipolar neurons
Anatomy & Physiology I: Nervous System – General Ziser Lecture Notes 2016.3 5 Anatomy & Physiology I: Nervous System – General Ziser Lecture Notes 2016.3 6

in very general terms, shape is related to

functionally one long fiber carries impulse that bypasses cell
body function:
the dendrites are considered the receptive branches at the many unipolar
beginning of the single process sensory neurons
& bipolar
especially in ganglia of PNS interneurons
mostly multipolar
most are sensory neurons motor neurons

b. bipolar Neuroglia
1. astrocytes
2 processes; 1 axon, 1 dendrite
2. microglia
only in some sense organs 3. ependymal cells
4. oligodendrocytes
eg. olfactory cells in nose, some retinal neurons, sensory
neurons of inner ear
5. Schwann cells
6. Satellite cells

c. multipolar
1. Astrocytes
≥3 processes; 1 axon, many dendrites
have numerous branches producing a starlike
most common shape
most neurons in CNS (interneurons)
largest and most abundant type
also some sensory and some motor neurons
in PNS  comprise >90% of the tissue in some parts of the brain

d. anaxonic neurons astrocytes cover the entire brain surface and most
of the nonsynaptic regions of the neurons in
have multiple dendrites but no axons
the gray matter of CNS
do not produce action potentials
also most functionally diverse type
found in brain and retina

form supportive framework for nervous tissue

Anatomy & Physiology I: Nervous System – General Ziser Lecture Notes 2016.3
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 larger molecules penetrate slowly or not at all
direct the formation of tight webs of cells
around brain’s capillaries substances easily, rapidly passed by diffusion:

=blood/brain barrier H2O

O2
CO2
because of “irritability” of nervous tissue and
lipid soluble solutes:alcohol, caffeine, nicotine,
sensitivity to 0 2, glucose etc neurons are heroin, anesthetics, steroids
isolated into their own “fluid compartment”
some pass by means of membrane carriers:
glucose
this blockage of free exchange between amino acids
capillaries and tissues is unique for some ions
nervous tissue
substances that cross more slowly
creatinine
 prevents sudden and extreme fluctuations urea
in composition of tissue fluid in CNS most ions (Na+ , K +, Cl-)

substances not passed

 protects irreplaceable neurons from damage proteins
antibodies
capillaries in brain are much less leaky than
normal capillaries a few areas of the brain do not have blood-
brain barrier between capillaries and
 tight junctions: materials must pass neurons
through cells eg. hypothalamus
 monitors hormone levels in blood
astrocytes form an additional layer
around these capillaries to further other functions of astrocytes:
restrict exchange
 secrete growth factors that promote neuron
 astrocytes help regulate flow into CSF growth and synapse formation

small molecules (O 2, CO 2, alcohol) diffuse rapidly

communicate electrically with neurons and
Anatomy & Physiology I: Nervous System – General Ziser Lecture Notes 2016.3 may affect synaptic signalling
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regulate chemical composition of tissue fluid 4. Oligodendrocytes (oligodendroglia) (CNS)

 when neurons are damage astrocytes form smaller cells, fewer (up to 15) processes
hardened masses of scar tissue and fill
in the space clustered around nerve cell bodies
= sclerosis
each process reaches out to nerve fiber and
2. Microglia (CNS) wraps around it to produce myelin sheath
(electrical insulation) around neurons in CNS
[myelin=fatty substance]
small macrophage cells
myelin (in CNS and PNS) can be:
develop from monocytes thick = “myelinated fibers”, “white matter”
in inflamed or
thin = “unmyelinated fibers”, “gray matter”
degenerating brain
tissue they: Multiple Sclerosis
autoimmune disease possibly triggered by a virus in genetically
susceptible individuals
enlarge oligodendrocytes and myelin sheaths of CNS deteriorate and are
replaced by hardened scar tissue
occur esp between 20-40 yrs of age
move about nerve fibers are severed
& myelin sheaths in CNS are gradually
carry out phagocytosis of microbes destroyed
 short circuits; loss of impulse
and cellular debris conduction

affects mostly young adults (400,000 in US)

microglia also remove unused synapses common symptoms:
visual problems muscle
weakness
3. Ependymal Cells (CNS) clumsiness
eventual paralysis

ciliated cells  resemble cuboidal epithelium

5. Schwann Cells
line ventricles and spinal canal (PNS)

help to produce and circulate CerebroSpinal found only in

Fluid PNS
Anatomy & Physiology I: Nervous System – General Ziser Lecture Notes 2016.3
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Ziser Lecture Notes 2016.3
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 Synapses
form a segmental wrapping around nerve fibers
each segment is produced by 1 Schwann cell meeting point between a neuron and any other cells
gaps between cells = Nodes of Ranvier = synapse

form neurilemma and myelin sheath in PNS neurons generally are not directly connected to
neurons each other but are separated by a small gap

outermost coil of Schwann cell with most of synapses are the functional connection between
cytoplasm & organelles forms neurilemma neurons and a few other cells (eg. muscles, glands)

 only in PNS neurons CNS:

neuron  neuron
 plays essential role in regeneration of
cut or injured neurons PNS:

sensory cellneuron
[CNS neurons don’t regenerate] neuron  neuron
neuron  muscle fiber [=neuromuscular jct]
a study done in 2011 placed nannotubes in a severed neuron  gland [=neuroglandular jct]
spinal cord of rats and found some return of neuron  epithelial cells
mobility in hind legs

each neuron synapses with 1000 – 10,000

6. Satellite Cells
axonal terminals
surround neuron cell bodies in ganglia of PNS
 ~1 quadrillion synapses in human brain
seem to support, protect, and and cushion at birth brain has ~50 trillion synapses

 1 month later has 1 quadrillion synapses

largely unknown
at synapse the electrical signal is converted to a
chemical signal that must diffuse across
the synapse to have an effect on the next
neuron
Anatomy & Physiology I: Nervous System – General Ziser Lecture Notes 2016.3

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synapses make neural integration possible

 each synapse is a “decision making” device that determines
whether the second cell will respond to the signal from the
first

General Function of a Synapse:

1. nerve impulse reaches end of axon at synapse and

triggers release of chemical
(=neurotransmitter)

 exocytosis

2. NT diffuses across synapse and binds to

receptor proteins in cell membrane of target
cell

3.triggers response in target cell

whole process takes 0.3 – 5.0 ms

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