Canadian Medical Guide > Anatomy > Nervous System > Neurons Terms and Definitions

Neurons

Medical Definition:	The basic cellular units of nervous tissue. Each neuron consists of a body, an axon, and dendrites. Their purpose is to receive, conduct, and transmit impulses in the NERVOUS SYSTEM.
Guide Notes:	do not use as a substitute or synonym for BRAIN /cytol

Neurons Categories.

	Dendrites - Extensions of the nerve cell body. They are short and branched and receive stimuli from other NEURONS.
	Growth Cones - Bulbous enlargement of the growing tip of nerve axons and dendrites. They are crucial to neuronal development because of their pathfinding ability and their role in synaptogenesis.
	Interneurons - Most generally any neurons which are not motor or sensory. Interneurons may also refer to neurons whose axons remain within a particular brain region as contrasted with projection neurons which have axons projecting to other brain regions.
	Lewy Bodies - Intracytoplasmic, eosinophilic, round to elongated inclusions found in vacuoles of injured or fragmented neurons. The presence of Lewy bodies is the histological marker of the degenerative changes in LEWY BODY DISEASE and PARKINSON DISEASE but they may be seen in other neurological conditions. They are typically found in the substantia nigra and locus coeruleus but they are also seen in the basal forebrain, hypothalamic nuclei, and neocortex.
	Nerve Fibers - Slender processes of NEURONS, including the AXONS and their glial envelopes (MYELIN SHEATH). Nerve fibers conduct nerve impulses to and from the central nervous system.
	Neurofibrils - The delicate interlacing threads, formed by aggregations of neurofilaments and neurotubules, coursing through the cytoplasm of the body of a neuron and extending from one dendrite into another or into the axon.
	Neurons, Afferent - Neurons which convey sensory information centrally from the periphery.
	Neurons, Efferent - Neurons which send impulses peripherally to activate muscles or secretory cells.
	Nissl Bodies - Subcellular structures found in nerve cell bodies and DENDRITES. They consist of granular endoplasmic reticulum (ENDOPLASMIC RETICULUM, ROUGH) and RIBOSOMES.
	Nitrergic Neurons - Nerve cells where transmission is mediated by NITRIC OXIDE.
	Senile Plaques - Spherical masses consisting of amyloid fibrils and neuronal processes.

Neurons Medical Definitions and Terms

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