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White matter is the tissue through which messages pass between different areas of grey matter within the central nervous system. The white matter is white because of the fatty substance (myelin) that surrounds the nerve fibers (axons). This myelin is found in almost all long nerve fibers, and acts as an electrical insulation.
Being rich in lipid, myelin appears white, hence the name given to the "white matter" of the CNS. Both CNS white matter tracts (e.g. the optic nerve, corticospinal tract and corpus callosum) and PNS nerves (e.g. the sciatic nerve and the auditory nerve, which also appear white) each comprise thousands to millions of axons, largely aligned in ...
Myelination is only prevalent in a few brain regions at birth and continues into adulthood. The entire process is not complete until about 25–30 years of age. [24] Myelination is an important component of intelligence, and white matter quantity may be positively correlated with IQ test results in children. [24]
The corticospinal tract is a white matter motor pathway starting at the cerebral cortex that terminates on lower motor neurons and interneurons in the spinal cord, controlling movements of the limbs and trunk. [1] There are more than one million neurons in the corticospinal tract, and they become myelinated usually in the first two years of life.
White matter is composed mainly of myelinated axons, and takes its color from the myelin. White matter includes all of the nerves, and much of the interior of the brain and spinal cord. Gray matter is found in clusters of neurons in the brain and spinal cord, and in cortical layers that line their surfaces.
These subdivisions have different amounts of myelination and axon thickness and therefore transmit signals at different speeds. Larger diameter axons and more myelin insulation lead to faster signal propagation. Group A nerves are found in both motor and sensory pathways. [2]
Myelin basic protein (MBP) is a protein believed [weasel words] to be important in the process of myelination of nerves in the nervous system. The myelin sheath is a multi-layered membrane, unique to the nervous system, that functions as an insulator to greatly increase the velocity of axonal impulse conduction . [ 5 ]
The main elements that comprise the human body (including water) can be summarized as CHNOPS. Element Symbol percent mass percent atoms Oxygen O 65.0 24.0 Carbon C 18.5 12.0 Hydrogen H 9.5 62.0 Nitrogen N 2.6 1.1 Calcium Ca 1.3 0.22 Phosphorus P 0.6 0.22 Sulfur S 0.3 0.038 Potassium K 0.2 0.03 Sodium Na 0.2 0.037 Chlorine Cl 0.2 0.024 Magnesium Mg