cell body

The cell body is the compact section of a nerve cell that contains the nucleus and the cytoplasm. It is also known as the soma or the perikaryon.

A nerve cell (or neuron) is one of the cells that make up the nervous system, which includes the brain and spinal cord. Nerve cells send signals in the form of impulses across the body.

The cell body is one part of a nerve cell. The nerve cell also contains the axon, which carries impulses away from the cell, and the dendrites, which carry impulses toward the cell.

The cell body houses the production center of a cell. Inside the cell body is the nucleus, which contains the cell’s DNA and the genetic information on how to make all of the proteins that a cell needs.

The rest of the cell body contains the cytoplasm, a gelatinous substance that surrounds the nucleus. Within the cytoplasm lies all of the other cell organelles you might be familiar with, such as the mitochondria, golgi apparatus, and ribosomes, which make proteins and energy.

The first records of the term cell body come from around 1875. It is made from the word cell, the microscopic structure that is the basic unit of an organism, and the word body, in the sense of “the main mass or the trunk.”

You can think of a nerve cell like a tree. The cell body is the trunk of the tree and houses the organelles that keep the cell alive and productive. The dendrites sprout out of the cell body like the roots of a tree and gather impulses. The impulses travel through the nerve cell and leave the cell body through the axon, which acts as a branch that sends impulses to other nerve cells.

While an impulse or signal may pass through the cell body, it is up to the axon and dendrites to actually transport the impulses. Rather than help transport signals, the cell body houses the structures that keep the cell functioning properly.

Students learn about the cell body when they are taught about neurons and the nervous system.

3.5 years of studying neuroscience and I was today years old when I learned neuronal cell bodies have ribosomes and Golgi apparatus

— 21.875%⚕️ (@marlenemz) December 14, 2018

I'm soo tired of looking at Ch. 12 and hearing about neurons, excitatory responses, dendrites, cell bodies, axons etc. … ☹.

— ↃC (@_b0mbchell) September 13, 2012

• neuron
• axon
• dendrite
• nucleus
• cytoplasm
• nervous system

True or False?

The nucleus of a nerve cell is located within the cell body.