NEURONS HISTOLOGY

Ross and Pawlina (6th ed)

Agatha Terencia
• Dendrites
– fairly short
– lots of branches,
– the points at which nerve impulses
are received by the cell.
• Cell body (perikaryon)
• Axon
– single nerve 'fibre' which transmits
impulses to the distal end
– Can be very long - around 1 meter
and vary in diameter from 0.2 to 20
µm
• Bipolar
– Single axon and single
dendrite
• Pseudounipolar
– Single axon and
dendrite arise from a
common stem
• Multipolar
– Most common
 Synapses
• Between two neurons, synapses can form between:
– an axon and a dendrite (axodendritic)
– an axon and an axon (axoaxonic)
– an axon and a cell body (axosomatic)

• There are electrical synapse and chemical synapses (more

common)
– presynaptic terminal - part which delivers the nerve impulse
– postsynaptic terminal - part which receives the impulse
– synaptic cleft - gap between the pre- and post synaptic
membranes.
• The synapse formed between an axon and a muscle fiber is
called a neuromuscular junction. This is a chemical type of
synapse.
• Nervous system consist 2 main cell types
– Neurons
– Supporting cells
 CNS
• Grey matter contains the
cell bodies (perikarya) of
neurons and the
supporting cells
(neuroglia) as well as
unmyelinated dendrites.
• White matter does not
contain any cell bodies,
but mostly contains
myelinated nerve fibres.
• perikaryon
– dark purple (basophilic)
staining areas in
cytoplasm of the cell
– These are known as
Nissl bodies or Nissl
substance (ribosome
rich sites of active
protein synthesis -
accumulations of the
rough endoplasmic
reticulum)
 Supporting cells in CNS
• 4 types of supporting cells
– Oligodendrocytes
• The axons of many neurons are
insulated by a myelin sheath
• Myelin is formed by
oligodendrocytes in the CNS, (and
by Schwann cells. in the PNS).
Oligodendrocytes myelinate
several axons from different
nerves (up to around 50).
– Astrocytes
• Most common
• Involved in metabolic exchange
between neurons and blood
– Ependymal cells
• Line the ventricles and
spinal canal
• Have cilia on their
luminal surface
– Microglia
• less common
• Immune defense and
become phagocytic in
response to infections or
tissue damage
 PNS
• 1 type of supporting
cell, the Schwann cell
• Ganglia
– Are nodular masses of
neuronal cell bodies
(ganglion cell), together
with their supporting
neuroglia
– 2 types
• Sensory
• Autonomic
• Fascicle within a
peripheral nerve that
has been cut
transversely