Parts of the nervous system

• The nervous system is the body system that senses the environment and controls actions.
• The central nervous system consists of the brain and spinal cord.
• The peripheral nervous system consists of the bundles of nerves that relay messages between the sense organs, the central nervous system and the muscles and glands. This system is spread out through the entire body
• Neurons are specialized cells that transmit messages, in the form of electrical signals, to and from, and within, the central nervous system.
• Their specialised structure enables neurons to rapidly transmit information across synapses, the junctions between neurons, using chemical and electrical signals.
• a cell body: where the nucleus is located
• dendrites: branches that receive messages
• an axon: a thread-like structure that carries impulses to other neurons
• a myelin sheath: a fatty layer that insulates the axon and sometimes a dendrite
• The main parts of a typical neuron are the cell body, the axon and numerous dendrites.