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Justin Mancino

12/11/16

Mrs. Hamel

Period A

The Nervous System

(Physiology)
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The main major organ of the nervous system is the brain. Everything is connected to

the brain in some way. It starts with small nerve receptor cells in the dermis and in

organs. These specialized cells known as neurons, transmit signals between different

parts of the body. It is essentially the body’s electrical wiring. “the nervous system has

two main subdivisions: the somatic, or voluntary component; and the autonomic, or

involuntary component. The autonomic nervous system regulates certain body processes,

such as blood pressure and the rate of breathing, that work without conscious effort. The

somatic system consists of nerves that connect the brain and spinal cord with muscles and

sensory receptors in the skin”. To maintain homeostasis, the nervous system does not

change anything really, but it does transmit signals to the brain indicating of a shift in

homeostasis. Nerve cells or neurons have the longest cell life in the body, in fact many
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neuroscientists believe that you are born with all the nerve cells you'll ever have.

However, Neurons do have a life cycle and once they are born it has to travel to the place

in the brain where it will do its work. “Not all neurons are successful in their journey.

Scientists think that only a third reach their destination. Some cells die during the process

of neuronal development. Although neurons are the longest living cells in the body, large

numbers of them die during migration and differentiation. The lives of some neurons can

take abnormal turns. Some diseases of the brain are the result of the unnatural deaths of

neurons”. All neurons connect to the spinal cord in some way, the spinal cord is the direct

path to the brain and if injured could cause life threatening problems like paralysis. Nerve

cells are located everywhere in the body and if you never felt pain in a certain area it too

could be life threatening because you would not know if there was an imbalance in

homeostasis.

References

National Institutes of Health. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, n.d. Web.

12 Dec. 2016.

Zimmermann, Kim A. "Nervous System: Facts, Functions, and Disease." Live Science.

N.p., n.d. Web. 12 Dec. 2016.

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