The nervous system is a complex collection of nerves and specialized cells known as neurons that transmit signals between different parts of the body. It is essentially the body’s electrical wiring. Structurally, the nervous system has two components: the central nervous system and the peripheral nervous system.
Description of the nervous system
Nerves are cylindrical bundles of fibers that start at the brain and central cord and branch out to every other part of the body
- Neurons send signals to other cells through thin fibers called axons, which cause chemicals known as neurotransmitters to be released at junctions called synapses
- There are over 100 trillion neural connections in the average human brain, though the number and location can vary
Study of the Nervous System
The branch of medicine that studies and treats the nervous system is called neurology, and doctors who practice in this field are called neurologists.
- Once they have completed medical training, neurologists complete additional training for their specialty and are certified by the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology (ABPN).
- There are also physiatrists, who are physicians who work to rehabilitate patients who have experienced disease or injury to their nervous systems that impact their ability to function
Diagnosing nervous system conditions
A number of tests and procedures to diagnose conditions involving the nervous system include: X-rays, fluoroscopy, MRI, CT scan, electroencephalogram (EEG), Positron emission tomography, spinal tap, and a spinal tap
Diseases of the nervous system
The most common difficulty that people have is pain, and much of that is nerve-related
- 100 million people live with chronic pain
- Epilepsy
- Parkinson’s disease
- Multiple sclerosis
- Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS)
- Huntington’s disease, which is an inherited condition that causes nerve cells in the brain to degenerate
- Alzheimer’s disease
