The basic structure of a nerve is that of a cell body, or soma, which has a single long nerve fibre, or axon, attached at one end to the cell body and at the other end to another nerve cell body or to a structure requiring nerve impulses such as skeletal muscle. The interface between two nerves or a nerve and another structure is called the nerve synapse. The cell body of the nerve itself also contains numerous dendrites which increase it's surface area enabling other nerve axons to connect with the cell body. The cell body usually has connections with many other axons from other nerve cells with many synapses on the cell body. The axon of the nerve cell is usually surrounded by some form of insulating protection, or myelination. This protective layer is called the myelin sheath. | The basic structure of a nerve is that of a cell body, or soma, which has a single long nerve fibre, or axon, attached at one end to the cell body and at the other end to another nerve cell body or to a structure requiring nerve impulses such as skeletal muscle. The interface between two nerves or a nerve and another structure is called the nerve synapse. The cell body of the nerve itself also contains numerous dendrites which increase it's surface area enabling other nerve axons to connect with the cell body. The cell body usually has connections with many other axons from other nerve cells with many synapses on the cell body. The axon of the nerve cell is usually surrounded by some form of insulating protection, or myelination. This protective layer is called the myelin sheath. |