Nerves: Meaning, Structure and Types

What is a Nerve ?

A nerve, a wire-like structure found in the body, conducts nerve impulses. These nerve impulses relay data from one place to the other.

A nerve is a bundle that is made of fibres wrapped around layers of tissues and fat. These fibres extend throughout the body. These nerves transmit information using the axons connecting to the organs. These are essential elements that make up nerves.

Nerves make up part of the nervous system. They are responsible for coordinating and controlling all parts of your body.

The nervous system can not only send and receive messages but also converts them to chemical signals, known as impulses. The nervous system is made up of many nerves that run throughout the body. These include the spine, brain and many organs.

Structure of the Nerve

The peripheral nervous system is composed of nerves. These are the organs that make it function. It consists of a cord-like structure, which contains multiple nerve fibres (also called “axons”) that are wrapped with tissue and fat. It is enclosed in connective tissue that surrounds the axon. This connective material is known as endoneurium. It surrounds the entire nerve in a second layer called epineurium.

Neuron Structure

Here is how to outline the structure of nerves:

An assortment of neurons can be found in nerves. They are organised into bundles. Fascicules is the name for this bundle
The perineurium holds each fascicle together and surrounds it
The perineurium, a concentric layer structure, is formed by basement membranes and collagen fibres.
Endoneurium is loose connective tissue. It holds blood vessels and neurons in fascicles. It binds to the nerves’ outermost layer
Fascicules contain branches of veins, arteries, and other blood vessels. These blood channels are where the neuronal cells in fascicles get their nutrients and gases

Different types of Nerves

There are three kinds of nerves in the body. These types of nerves are classified according to the function they perform. This group includes sensory, motor and mixed nerves.

Sensory nerves

These pathways carry information from the sense nerves to the spine and brain. These nerve fibres can be found in a bundled or structured structure in the peripheral nervous system. They transmit information from the PNS (Peripheral Nervous System) and the CNS (Central Nervous System).

Motor Nerves

Motor nerves control the transmission of signals from the spinal cord or brain to other parts of the body. Because of this, information is received from the CNS by the PNS.

Mixed Nerves

A mixed nerve can be described as a nerve that has both sensory and motor functions. They convert central nervous system signals to electrical impulses that can transmit to the muscles. Mixed nerves transmit information at 432 kilometers an hour, or 120 meters per minute.

Nerves do their basic job of sending information and conducting electrochemical impulses. These impulses are sent by every neuron in the nerve.

These impulses travel throughout a synapse and from one neuron into another. The messages go from an electrical to a chemical form, and then back again to an electrical form.

Information from the receptor is transmitted to the central nervous systems by the sensory nerves. The information is then processed.

Motor nerves relay information from the central nervous systems to the muscles.