Neuropathy Knowledge: What Is An Axon?

Today's post from sciencedaily.com (see link below) is the seventh part of a series from the same source providing readers with explanations and information about many of the medical terms they hear when researching neuropathy, or sitting in the doctor's surgery and talking about it. Today it explains the word 'axon' and gives related definitions of other words associated with its workings in the nervous system. Worth following the links if you have the time.

Axon
Science Daily via Wikipedia

An axon, or nerve fiber, is a long slender projection of a nerve cell, or neuron, that conducts electrical impulses away from the neuron's cell body or soma.

Axons are in effect the primary transmission lines of the nervous system, and as bundles they help make up nerves.

Individual axons are microscopic in diameter - typically about one micrometre across - but may extend to macroscopic lengths.

The longest axons in the human body, for example, are those of the sciatic nerve, which run from the base of the spine to the big toe of each foot.

These single-cell fibers may extend a meter or even longer. In vertebrates, the axons of many neurons are sheathed in myelin, which is formed by either of two types of glial cells: Schwann cells ensheathing peripheral neurons and oligodendrocytes insulating those of the central nervous system.

For more information about the topic Axon, read the full article at Wikipedia.org, or see the following related articles:


Myelin — Myelin is an electrically insulating phospholipid layer that surrounds the axons of many neurons. It is an outgrowth of glial cells: Schwann cells ...  read more


Neural development — The study of neural development draws on both neuroscience and developmental biology to describe the cellular and molecular mechanisms by which ...read more


Pupillary reflex — In medicine, the pupillary reflex or pupillary light reflex, is the reduction of pupil size in response to light. It is a normal response and ...  read more


Sensory neuron — Sensory neurons are nerve cells within the nervous system responsible for converting external stimuli from the organism's environment into internal ... read more


Neuron — Neurons (also known as neurones, nerve cells and nerve fibers) are electrically excitable cells in the nervous system that function to process and ...  read more


Sympathetic nervous system — The sympathetic nervous system (SNS) is part of the autonomic nervous system (ANS), which also includes the parasympathetic nervous system (PNS). The ...  read more


Neurobiology — Neurobiology is the study of cells of the nervous system and the organization of these cells into functional circuits that process information and ...  read more


Nociceptor — A nociceptor is a sensory receptor that sends signals that cause the perception of pain in response to potentially damaging stimulus. Nociceptors are ...  read more


Chemical synapse — Chemical synapses are specialized junctions through which cells of the nervous system signal to one another and to non-neuronal cells such as muscles ...  read more


Nervous system — The nervous system of an animal coordinates the activity of the muscles, monitors the organs, constructs and also stops input from the senses, and ...  read more

http://www.sciencedaily.com/articles/a/axon.htm