Word parts
What it means
A neuronNOOR-onA nerve cell: a cell that carries electrical and chemical signals through the nervous system.neur/o nerveFull entry has many dendrites, branching like a tree from the cell body, and usually one long axonAK-sonThe long, thin part of a nerve cell that carries electrical signals away from the cell body.Full entry . The dendrites pick up chemical messages from neighboring neurons and pass them toward the cell body; the axon carries the signal away to the next cell.
Remember it
Dendrites take in; the axon sends out.
At a glance
| Also written | dendrites |
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Related terms
neurotransmitter
A chemical that a nerve cell releases to pass a signal to another nerve, muscle or gland cell.
neuron
A nerve cell: a cell that carries electrical and chemical signals through the nervous system.
axon
The long, thin part of a nerve cell that carries electrical signals away from the cell body.