The Nervous

System
APRIL JOY A. TALAS
 Divisions of the Nervous System

• Central nervous system (CNS)—brain and

spinal cord and is encased in bone.
• Peripheral nervous system (PNS)— outside
of the CNS, consists of all nerves and
ganglia.

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• Nerves – are bundles of axons and their
sheaths that extend from the CNS to
peripheral structures such as muscles and
glands and from sensory organs to the
CNS.
• Ganglia – are collections of nerve cell
bodies located outside the CNS.

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The anatomical divisions perform
different functions:

• CNS – processes, integrates, stores,

and responds to information from the
PNS.
• PNS – detects stimuli and transmits
information to and receives
information from the CNS.
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• 43 pairs of nerves originate from
the CNS to form the PNS
• 12 pairs, the cranial nerves
originate from the brain
• 31 pairs, the spinal nerves originate
from the spinal cord

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 The PNS has two divisions

• Afferent (sensory) division – neurons that

transmit sensory information to the CNS
from the periphery
• Efferent (motor) division – neurons that
transmit information from the CNS to the
periphery (muscle and glands)

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 The efferent division has two
subdivisions
• Somatic nervous system – innervates
skeletal muscle and is mostly under
voluntary control.
• Autonomic nervous system – innervates
cardiac muscle, smooth muscle, and glands
under involuntary control.
• Sympathetic division – prepares the body for
physical activity when activated
• Parasympathetic division – regulates more
vegetative functions. 8
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 Cells of the Nervous System
Nonneural cells Neurons
• Which support and • Receive stimuli
protect neurons and conduct action
and perform other potentials
functions
• Neuroglia or
• Glial cells
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 Neurons or nerve cells
• Receive stimuli and transmit action potentials to
other neurons or to effector organs.
• Consist of three parts
• Cell body of neuron (soma) —main part
• Dendrites (trees)—branching projections
that conduct impulses to cell body of
neuron
• Axon—elongated projection that conducts
impulses away from cell body of neuron
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Axon hilllock

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Telodendria/ presynaptic terminals
 Neurons classified according to
function or direction of impulse
• Sensory neurons: conduct impulses to the
spinal cord and brain; also called afferent
neurons
• Motor neurons: conduct impulses away from
brain and spinal cord to muscles and glands;
also called efferent neurons
• Interneurons: conduct impulses from sensory
neurons to motor neurons; also called central
or connecting neurons
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 Neurons classified according to
shape
• Multipolar neurons – most numerous type, have
several dendritic processes and a single axon
• Bipolar neurons – consist of a single dendrite and
a single axon. Specialized to receive the stimulus,
and the axon conducts action potential to the
CNS.
• Unipolar, pseudounipolar, or unipolar neurons –
have a singe axon extending from the cell body.
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 Cells of the Nervous System
• Glia (neuroglia)
• Support cells, bringing the cells of
nervous tissue together structurally
and functionally, participate in the
formation of a permeability barrier
between the blood and the nerve
cells, produce cerebrospinal fluid,
and form myelin sheaths around
axons. 18
 Cells of the Nervous System
• Five main types of connective tissue cells of the
CNS:
• Astrocytes—star-shaped cells that anchor small
blood vessels to neurons (blood-brain barrier)
• Microglia—small cells that move in inflamed
brain tissue carrying on phagocytosis
• Ependymal cells – line the ventricles (cavities)
of the brain and the central canal of the spinal
cord. Specialized within certain areas, the
choroid plexuses, to secrete the cerebrospinal
fluid (CSF) that circulates through the ventricles
of the brain. 19
• Oligodendrocytes—form myelin sheaths
around many axons in the CNS. The normal
rate of action potential propagation depends
on these myelin sheaths.
• Schwann cells – peripheral neuroglial cells,
they form the supportive and protective
sheaths around axons. Each schwann cells
forms a sheath around only one axon.
• Satellite cells – are specialized Schwann
cells, surround nerve bodies in ganglia,
provide support, and may provide
nutrients to the nerve cell bodies. 20
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