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- The nervous system functions to control or regulate all of the body’s organ systems and functions.
- The nervous system interacts with all other body systems through electrochemical impulses.
All parts of the nervous system are made of neurons, it is the basic unit. Some of your neurons are helping you read this page right now, others are telling you that food smells good or tastes good.
Neuron
Neurons are made of three basic parts: dendrites, a cell body, and an axon.
A neuron may have many dendrites attached to the cell body. The dendrites are receptors that receive a stimulus or a message. The cell body houses the nucleus of the neuron and the mitochondria among other specialized organelles. It is responsible for carrying out the life functions of the neuron. Each neuron only has one axon. The axon is a long fiber that transmits the message or electrochemical impulses towards other neurons, muscle cells, or glands in the body.
There are two basic types of neurons: motor neurons and sensory neurons.
Motor neurons send impulses from the brain and spinal cord to muscles or glands.
Sensory neurons detect stimuli and transmit information from your body to your spinal cord or brain.
Central Nervous System
The central nervous system is composed of the brain and the spinal cord. So the brain and spinal cord process, manage, and store information.
Peripheral Nervous System
The peripheral nervous system is composed of nerves. So the nerves sense the information and then pass it on to the central nervous system.
The peripheral nervous system is broken down into two other systems: the somatic nervous system and the automatic nervous system.
The somatic nervous system regulates body movement by giving you voluntary control over those muscles. Walking, talking, turning pages, dialing a phone number on your phone are all examples of the somatic nervous system. This is everything you have control over.
The autonomic nervous system controls automated functions in your body, like breathing, your heart beat, sweating, the list goes on. It is everything you can not control about your body.
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