Search results
Results from the WOW.Com Content Network
In the central nervous system (brain, spinal cord and optic nerves), myelination is formed by specialized glial cells called oligodendrocytes, each of which sends out processes (limb-like extensions from the cell body) to myelinate multiple nearby axons; while in the peripheral nervous system, myelin is formed by Schwann cells (neurolemmocytes ...
The myelin sheath of long nerves was discovered and named by German pathological anatomist Rudolf Virchow [21] in 1854. [22] French pathologist and anatomist Louis-Antoine Ranvier later discovered the nodes, or gaps, in the myelin sheath that now bear his name.
The myelin sheath is not continuous but is segmented along the axon's length at gaps known as the nodes of Ranvier. In the peripheral nervous system the myelination of axons is carried out by Schwann cells. [1] Oligodendrocytes are found exclusively in the CNS, which comprises the brain and spinal cord.
The myelin sheath insulates the nerve fiber from the extracellular fluid and speeds up signal conduction along the nerve fiber. [34] In the peripheral nervous system, Schwann cells are responsible for myelin production. These cells envelop nerve fibers of the PNS by winding repeatedly around them. This process creates a myelin sheath, which not ...
Schwann cells or neurolemmocytes (named after German physiologist Theodor Schwann) are the principal glia of the peripheral nervous system (PNS). Glial cells function to support neurons and in the PNS, also include satellite cells, olfactory ensheathing cells, enteric glia and glia that reside at sensory nerve endings, such as the Pacinian corpuscle.
Myelin is formed by oligodendrocytes in the central nervous system and Schwann cells in the peripheral nervous system.Therefore, the first stage of myelinogenesis is often defined as the differentiation of oligodendrocyte progenitor cells (OPCs) or Schwann cell progenitors into their mature counterparts, [4] followed by myelin formation around axons.
White matter refers to areas of the central nervous system (CNS) that are mainly made up of myelinated axons, also called tracts. [1] Long thought to be passive tissue, white matter affects learning and brain functions, modulating the distribution of action potentials, acting as a relay and coordinating communication between different brain ...
The neurilemma is underlain by the myelin sheath (also known as the medullary sheath). In the central nervous system, axons are myelinated by oligodendrocytes, thus lack neurilemma. The myelin sheaths of oligodendrocytes do not have neurilemma because excess cytoplasm is directed centrally toward the oligodendrocyte cell body.