Microscopic View of a Normal Brain Cell – Black

SKU: S02155

Click Here to View This Exhibit on a White Background

Click Here to View Shearing of an Axon Due to Applied Forces

Click Here to View Post-Traumatic Results of an Axon Shearing Injury

This exhibit depicts the normal microscopic structure of a neuron (brain cell). Neurons are specialized cells that make up the nervous system. They process and transmit information through chemical and electrical signaling. A typical neuron has a cell body, containing a nucleus, which receives and interprets neurological signals. Arising from the cell body are multiple branches called dendrites, and an axon. The dendrites possess synaptic junctions, where other neurons connect to pass on information. When a signal is passed over the synapse, the dendrites receive the signal, and relay the information to the cell body. The nucleus interprets the information, and sends a signal down its myelin coated axon. Axons serve as an insulated neurological “wire,” passing information from the cell body to the axon terminals. The terminals can then relay the appropriate signal to the next brain cell in the neurological network.