Each neuron has a central portion, or cell body, that has a nucleus,cytoplasm and a cell membrane.From one side of the cell body there extend very slender branching threads of protoplasm.These tiny nerve fibers are called dendrites.They look much like twigs at the end of a tree branch. From.the other side of the cell body there extends a fairly thick nerve fibre - surrounded by a fatty sheath which ends in slender, branching threads of protoplasm. These nerve fibres are called axons. Some axons are very short, while others are as much as three feet long. Dendrites conduct nerve impulses to the cell body.Axons carry impulses away from the cell body. Nerve tissue is made up of a series of neurons arranged so that the branching threads of protoplasm of an axon intermingle with the dendrites of the neighbouring neuron.
However, the two sets of branches do not actually touch.The gap between the branches is called a synapse.When an impulse moves along a nerve, it must jump across the synapse between one neuron and its neighbour.Nerves are divided into two kinds: sensory nerves that carry impulses from sense organs to the brain, and motor nerves that carry command impulses to the muscles.
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However, the two sets of branches do not actually touch.The gap between the branches is called a synapse.When an impulse moves along a nerve, it must jump across the synapse between one neuron and its neighbour.Nerves are divided into two kinds: sensory nerves that carry impulses from sense organs to the brain, and motor nerves that carry command impulses to the muscles.
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