Blog
Save
Email
Print
ShareMyelin is an electrically insulating phospholipid layer that surrounds the axons of many neurons.
It is an outgrowth of glial cells: Schwann cells supply the myelin for peripheral neurons while oligodendrocytes supply it to those of the central nervous system.
The main consequence of a myelin layer (or sheath) is an increase in the speed at which impulses propagate along the myelinated fiber.
For more information about the topic Myelin, read the full article at Wikipedia.org, or see the following related articles:
Axon — An axon, or nerve fiber, is a long slender projection of a nerve cell, or neuron, that conducts electrical impulses away from the neuron's cell body ... > read more
Neuron — Neurons (also known as neurones, nerve cells and nerve fibers) are electrically excitable cells in the nervous system that function to process and ... > read more
Action potential — An action potential is a wave of electrical discharge that travels along the membrane of a cell. Action potentials are an essential feature of animal ... > read more
Sympathetic nervous system — The sympathetic nervous system (SNS) is part of the autonomic nervous system (ANS), which also includes the parasympathetic nervous system (PNS). The ... > read more
Nervous system — The nervous system of an animal coordinates the activity of the muscles, monitors the organs, constructs and also stops input from the senses, and ... > read more
Gate control theory of pain — The gate control theory of pain, put forward by Ron Melzack and Patrick Wall in 1962, is the idea that physical pain is not a direct result of ... > read more
Sensory neuron — Sensory neurons are nerve cells within the nervous system responsible for converting external stimuli from the organism's environment into internal ... > read more
Multiple sclerosis — Multiple sclerosis (abbreviated MS, also known as disseminated sclerosis) is a chronic, inflammatory disease that affects the central nervous system ... > read more
Stem cell treatments — Medical researchers believe that stem cell treatments have the potential to change the face of human disease and alleviate suffering. A number of ... > read more
Note: This page refers to an article that is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the article Myelin at Wikipedia.org. See the Wikipedia copyright page for more details.
Editor's Note: This article is not intended to provide medical advice, diagnosis or treatment.
Recommend this page on Facebook, Twitter,
and Google +1:
Other bookmarking and sharing tools:
more 