Article
Article
Neuron
Article By:
Webster, Douglas B. Department of Otorhinolaryngology and Biocommunication, Louisiana State University Medical Center, Baton Rouge, Louisiana.
Last reviewed:April 2022
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1036/1097-8542.450000
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A nerve cell; the functional unit of the nervous system. A neuron is a specialized, basic nerve cell that transmits and receives information, in the form of electrical impulses, throughout the body. With the exceptions of sponges and placozoa, the neuron is the fundamental component of the nervous system in animals. Accordingly, neurons significantly comprise the tissues of the central nervous system, which include the brain and spinal cord, and the peripheral nervous system, which consists of nerves, or are enclosed bundles of neurons, branching off the spinal cord. See also: Animal; Brain; Central nervous system; Nerve; Nervous system (invertebrate); Nervous system (vertebrate); Spinal cord
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