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Body Works

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Central Nervous System                                                                                                                                                                           

The part of the nervous system that functions to coordinate the activity of all parts of the bodies it contains the majority of the nervous system and consists of the brain and the spinal cord. Together with the peripheral nervous system it has a fundamental role in the control of behaviour.

 

The CNS is contained within the dorsal cavity, with the brain in the cranial cavity and the spinal cord in the spinal cavity. The brain is protected by the skull the spinal cord is protected by the vertebrae.[1]

 

The brain together with the spinal cord coordinates most voluntary movement and regulates non-conscious processes.

 

The largest part of the brain is known as ‘the cerebrum’

 

 

 

                                                                                                                                                                                                          

Neurones - a nerve cell; it has a cell body, a very long axon sheathed in myelin, and many tiny branches called dendrites. There are three kinds of neurones: sensory, intermediate and motor neurones.

Axons - long cytoplasmic tubes, they carry electric impulses from one part of the body to another. They are insulated from each other by their myelin sheathes.

Dendrites - tiny branches on the cell body and at the ends of all neurones. The dendrites of one cell do not actually touch the dendrites of any other cell. There are very tiny gaps between them called synapses.

Synapses - the gaps between the dendrites of one neurone and the cell body of another one. There is no electrical connection between nerve cells. when one neurone stimulates another it does so by secreting a chemical into the synapse.

Grey Matter - the material in the brain and spinal cord which contains the cell bodies and dendrite of nerve cells. It is mainly cytoplasm. It appears grey to the naked eye.

White Matter - the material in the brain and spinal cord which contains the axons and myelin sheathes of nerve cells. It is mainly myelin which is a fat, so it appears white to the naked eye

 

 

 

1.  Maton, Anthea; Jean Hopkins, Charles William McLaughlin, Susan Johnson, Maryanna Quon Warner, David LaHart, Jill D. Wright (1993). Human Biology and Health. Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey, USA: Prentice Hall. pp. 132–144.

 

 

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