NERVOUS SYSTEM

By Janene Avery

NERVOUS SYSTEM

WHAT IS THE NERVOUS SYSTEM?

Your nervous system is the control and

communication system of the body. Its job is to send

and receive messages. Your nervous system controls

all your thoughts and movements.

NEURONS

The cells that make up the

nervous system are called

neurons. Long, stringy neurons

are perfect for carrying the

electrical messages that are the

"language" of the nervous system.

BRAIN

The brain is the command center of

your entire body. The brain is the

body's main information center. It is

made of billions of neurons. The brain

helps the body respond to the

information it receives from the senses.

The brain also processes thoughts.

When you think, neurons in your brain

are working.

SPINAL CORD

• The spinal cord is a tube of neurons that runs up the spine and attaches to the brain stem. Information from nerves that branch out to the rest of the body goes to the spinal cord. Some messages are processed by the spinal cord but most information is sent on to the brain.

WHAT CAN GO WRONG IN THE NERVOUS SYSTEM?

ALZHEIMER'S DISEASE

• Disease of the nervous system marked by a deterioration of memory, thinking, and reasoning.

CARPAL TUNNEL SYNDROME

Disorder caused by the

compression at the wrist of the

median nerve supplying the hand,

causing numbness and tingling.

EPILEPSY

Disorder of the nervous

system marked by seizures

that often involve convulsions

or the loss of consciousness.

HUNTINGTON'S DISEASE

Inherited, progressive

disease causing uncontrollable

physical movements and

mental deterioration.

MIGRAINES

A particularly intense form

of headaches.

POLIOMYELITIS

Contagious viral disease that can

cause damage to the central

nervous system, resulting in

paralysis and loss of muscle tissue.

And many more….

WHAT HAPPENS WHEN DAMAGE IS

MADE?

If the nervous system becomes damaged it could

become a major or a minor problem, depending

whether it is your central or peripheral nervous

system that is damaged

If your peripheral nervous system is damaged,

there is a good chance it isn’t fatal. Damage to your

peripheral nervous system means that the nerves

have been cut from that area and messages cannot

be received by that part of the body. There are

hundreds of peripheral nerve disorders that can

effect one, or many nerves. They can be as extreme

as

carpal tunnel syndrome or as moderate as diabetic n

erve problems. Symptoms of peripheral nerve disord

ers include: 

Numbness

Pain

Tingling 

Muscle weakness

Touch sensitivity

WHY DO WE NEED THE NERVOUS

SYSTEM?

Your brain is the main organ of your body

which is why it is a part of the central

nervous system. Without the nervous system

we wouldn’t be able to move, function or

think, this is because the nervous system is

what makes everything in your body work. 

Think of the brain as the main computing system that controls

what goes on with the other computers and the nerves are the

network that relays messages from one body part to another. If one

of the networks were to break, no messages would be able to be

sent to that area of the body therefore that organ or limb is useless.

Then imagine the main computing system shuts down. The body is

now brain-dead as the nerves have no main system to get their

messages from. This is why the central nervous system (the brain

and the spinal cord) is covered by bone, to protect it from harm.