Nerve Cell, Functions, Diseases, A Simple Guide To The Condition, Diagnosis, Treatment And Related Conditions

This book describes Nerve Cell, Functions, Diseases, Diagnosis and Treatment and Related Diseases
The Nervous system comprises:
1. Central Nervous System
a. Brain
b. Spinal cord
2. Peripheral Nervous System
a. Neuron
b. Peripheral ganglia
c. Autonomic Nervous System
The nervous system is made up of two basic types of cells:
1. Neurons - the actual nerve cell
2. Glia - Glial cells are support cells called astrocytes and oligodendrocytes and outnumber neurons in many parts of the nervous system.
A neuron or nerve cell is a dedicated type of cell found in the nervous system of most humans
The neurons make use of electrical impulses and chemical signals to transmit information between different areas of the brain and between the brain and the rest of the nervous system.
Neurons have three basic components:
1. A cell body (soma)
Within the cell body is a nucleus which regulates the cell’s activities and contains the cell’s genetic material.
2. An axon
The axon appears like a long tail and transmits messages from the cell.
3. One or many dendrites
Dendrites appear like the branches of a tree and receive messages for the cell.
Neurons correspond with each other by sending chemicals, called neurotransmitters, across a tiny space, called a synapse, between the axons and dendrites of adjacent neurons.
There are three classes of neurons:
1. Sensory neurons (or afferent neurons): send information from sensory receptors (e.g., in skin, eyes, nose, tongue, ears) toward the central nervous system.
2. Motor neurons (or efferent neurons): transmit information away from the central nervous system to muscles or glands.
They regulate voluntary muscle activity such as speaking and carry messages from nerve cells in the brain to the muscles.
3. Inter-neurons: send information between sensory neurons and motor neurons.
Most inter-neurons are sited in the central nervous system.
Within these three classes of neurons are many hundreds of different types each with specific message-carrying capabilities.
Nerve cells or neurons are specialized to transmit messages through an electrochemical process.
Life and Death of Nerve Cell
My name is Motor Man the nerve cell.
I was named Motor Man by my friends who feel that I send impulses to the muscles to move them.
I was born in the body from a stem cell during the development of the embryo.
There are at least 100 billion of us at birth.
Besides us neurons, helper cells called glial cells will help the neuron.
Glia outnumbers neurons in some parts of the brain, but neurons are the key players in the brain.
Once I am born, I have to journey to the place where I will do my work.
I also journey by using chemical signals which direct me to my final location.
As a normal neuron of the cervical spine, I provide sensory and motor services to my host from the spine right down to his skin of his hand.
I stimulate the movement of the muscles of the arm and hands.
Since the hands are involved daily in washing, eating, writing, I have to stimulate the muscles to do this everyday.
I am based in the spinal cord but having a filament called the axon helps me to extend my nerve to the hands.
At the end of the axon I have a synapse which is the connection with the muscle to signal the muscle what it is to do
I have several smaller and shorter filaments called the dendrites which connect with other neurons.
Sometimes the axon part of my body may be injured due to trauma or loss of circulation.
If my main cell body is not injured I can regenerate the growth of my axon usually from the first node of Ranvier
If my main body cell is injured, then I will die.
As we age, the parts of my cell begins to degenerate
TABLE OF CONTENT
Introduction
Chapter 1 Nerve Cell
Chapter 2 Functions
Chapter 3 Life Cycle
Chapter 4 Diseases
Chapter 5 Automatic Nervous System
Chapter 6 Motor Neuron Disease
Chapter 7 Parkinson Disease
Chapter 8 Life and Death Nerve Cell
Epilogue