Nervous System

Lesson

Part 1 — the cells and organs that carry and handle messages in the body.

In this lesson you will

Draw and label a neuron and distinguish the central, peripheral and autonomic nervous systems
State one function of each part of the brain and predict the effect of damage to it
Describe the arrangement of grey and white matter in the brain and spinal cord

Concept

Divisions of the nervous system

Table of the central, peripheral and autonomic nervous systems, what each is made of and its role
Division	Made of	Role
Central (CNS)	Brain and spinal cord	Receives information, decides, sends commands
Peripheral (PNS)	12 pairs of cranial and 31 pairs of spinal nerves	Links the CNS with sense organs, muscles and glands
Autonomic (ANS)	Nerves to internal organs	Controls involuntary activities: heartbeat, gut, glands

Diagram

A neuron has dendrites, a cell body (cyton) with a nucleus, and a long axon wrapped in a myelin sheath.