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Astrocytes
Star-shaped cells found between neurons and blood vessels
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Oligodendrocytes
Cells that produce a phospholipid myelin sheath around axons of neurons in the central nervous system
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Microglia
The brain's macrophages. They are small cells with few processes. Like macrophages, they may originate from monocytes circulating in the blood.
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Ependymal cells
Like epithelial cells, they line the ventricles of the brain and the central canal in the spinal cord.
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Sensory neurons
Neurons that are involved in conveying sensory information to the central nervous system
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Interneurons
Neurons that convey information from one neuron to another neuron.
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Motor neurons
Neurons that convey motor commands, usually to skeletal muscles.
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Axoplasmic flow
A slow process which is responsible for carrying soluble proteins synthesized in the cell body down to the axon terminals.
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Axonal transport
A faster, ATP-requiring process. This process is involved in the transport of organelles (such as synaptic vesicles, mitochondria) through the axon.
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Retrograde axonal transport
Transport that can move particles toward the neuronal cell body.
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Muscle spindle
Structure located within the body of the muscle provide data on the changing length of muscle during contraction or when it is stretched.
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Golgi tendon organ
Structure located in the tendons that provide data on the tension being developed by the muscle.
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Motor unit
a motor neuron and all the muscle fibers it is connected with
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Motor recruitment
Increaseing the number of motor neurons, and therefore motor units activated at any one time, can increase the force of contraction of the muscle.
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All-or-none phenomenon
(applies to a single muscle fiber) A stimulus is either sufficient to cause a maximm contraction, or it is subthreshold and there is no contraction at all.
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Neuroglial
The nerve tissue of the brain and spinal cord consists of billions of neurons, in close association with non-neuronal cells
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How muscles contract: (like oar and rower)
- Resting conditions, the myosin is primed and ready for action
- Attachment of myosin head to actin (=dipping oar in water)
- Power stroke (=rower pulling on oar)
- Detachment and reorientation (=rower raises oar and brings it forward again)
- Preparation and priming for next attachment step
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Node of Ranvier
A gap occurring at regular intervals between segments of myelin sheath along a nerve axon
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