Human Nervous System: Definition, Classification

Human nervous system is responsible for guiding nearly everything we think, feel, say, or do. Also, it controls the complex processes such as memory, thought, and movement, and things your body does without speculating, like when you blush, blink, or breathe. 

The human nervous system influences every characteristic of your life (health) that includes:

•     Thoughts, remembrance, memorisation, and emotions
•     Movements like balancing and coordinating
•     Senses, that include how the brain analyses what we are seeing, hearing, tasting, touching, and feeling
•     Sleep, medication and ageing
•     Heartbeat as well as habits of breathing
•     Responding to pressuring situations
•     Digestion and when we’re feeling hunger and thirst
•     Body processes, like puberty

The human nervous system works on the network of spread nerves.

Function

The human nervous system makes use of specialised cells that we refer to as neurons for sending signals all over the human body. After that, these electrical signals get sent to your brain, organs, muscles, skin, and glands. These provide messages that are beneficial in making your limbs move and feel sensations. The ears, tongue, eyes, nose, and nerves in the human body are all over to get information about your habitat. Then, the nerves in the human body are responsible for carrying that data to and from the brain. 

Different signals are sent by different neurons to the brain. Motor neurons help in the moment of muscles. Sensory neurons absorb information and send these signs to the brain. Neurons also work for controlling the things our body will do habitually, such as breathing, digestion, shivering, and having a systematic heartbeat.

What are the parts of the nervous system?

The human nervous system has two major parts. Each fraction comprises billions of cells that we refer to as neurons. These special cells are responsible for sending and receiving electrical signals all over your body to execute the functions accordingly.

The two main fractions of the human nervous system are:

Central nervous system (CNS):  The brain as well as the spinal cord are the two main aspects of your central nervous system. Your brain makes use of your nerves in the human body to send signals to the other parts of your body. This is protected by an outer layer that we refer to as myelin. It protects the nerve and works to support the messages to get travelled to get in. 

Peripheral nervous system: It comprises several nerves that spread from your central nervous system all over your body. It is responsible for sending information from the brain and spinal cord to the different parts of organs like arms, fingers, toes, and legs. Your peripheral nervous system includes:

•     The somatic nervous system controls the voluntary movements of the body.
•     The autonomic nervous system is responsible for controlling the fight or flight responses and the activities we do without any intention of doing them.

Disorders of the human nervous system:

Numerous disorders have an effect on your nerves. If the nerve is injured, it will create a disorder sending signals. Severe damage of the nerve of the human body can create problems such as sending or receiving a message whatsoever. Some of the nerve injuries symptoms are numbness, pins or needles feeling of pain.

Nerve damage can occur in numerous ways. A few of these causes of nerve damage include:

1.     Disease: Infections, cancers, as well as diseases such as lupus, rheumatoid arthritis, and diabetes can create problems in your nervous system. Diabetes causes tingling as well as pain in your legs plus feet, also known as multiple sclerosis that is known to attack the myelin surrounding the nerves in the central nervous system. 
2.     Stroke: This takes place when the blood vessels of the brain blocks or abruptly bursts. Then, the message is blocked. The damage can either be mild or severe. 
3.     Accidental injury: Nerves in the human body can be damaged in any way like if they crush, stretch, or get cut due to an accident. Car crashes as well as falls are quite common examples of these.
4.     Pressure: Compression of nerves causes it to not have adequate blood to carry out its function. These can get pinched or trapped due to any reason, like in carpal tunnel syndrome, the overuse of nerves tumour, or sciatica. 
5.     Toxic substances: Nerve damage can be damaged by medicines, alcohol and poisonous substances abuse, illegal drugs, etc. People that have kidney diseases get nerve damage as their kidneys cannot effectively filter out toxins.
6.     Ageing process: Neurons signals may not travel at the same speed as they did earlier as you grow older. The human body loses sensation in its toes, fingers, or other parts of their body.

Some causes occur very frequently, like Diabetes, in which we refer to the nerve damage as diabetic neuropathy. This will start affecting the legs, feet, fingers, arms, hands, and toes. Rheumatoid arthritis may also progress to neuropathy. It is the most common form of arthritis. In stroke, the age group of 65 and above are most affected.

Conclusion

The central nervous system is also known as the CNS, a nervous system assembled by neurons centralised in the nerve centres and found in the spinal canal and the cranial cavity. Extending along the longitudinal axis of the body. This system comprises the brain, discovered in the cranial cavity and the spinal cord, discovered in the spinal canal. It is important to ensure that we take good care of it to lead a healthy life.