Nervous system

Without intact Nervous system would man not be able to live and survive. With the nervous system, nature has given the human organism a tool to find its way around the environment. In addition, the nervous system is indispensable in order to coordinate and control all processes in the body.

What is the nervous system?

The Nervous system comprises a complex of different components, including the so-called nerve and glial cells and the control center, the brain.

Since all functional elements are interrelated, a system of nerves is created - the nervous system. The nervous system consists of the vegetative, central and peripheral parts.

The individual areas that make up the nervous system are based on different organs and organ complexes, which include the spinal cord, nerve fibers and nerve cells. Further anatomical differentiations are known as subsystems of the nervous system, which support functionality.

Anatomy & structure

The Nervous system is extremely complex and is based on components that are visible without aids and on microscopic structures.

In contrast to the central nervous system, the peripheral nervous system contains all the nerve pathways that run through the body and also serve to absorb stimuli through the skin. Various subsystems, which are broken down in both nervous systems and are often known as the sympathetic and parasympathetic system, enteric and vegetative nervous system, are based on the nerve tissue and the nerve cell (neuron) as well as glial cells.

In the nervous system, the nerve cells represent a network structure within which the neurons are functional. Basically, the nervous system does not work independently of other organs. For example, it is subject to the influence of hormones.

Functions & tasks

The Nervous system is the basis for a connection between humans and their environment. The nervous system or systema nervosum has a control function that includes all vital processes in the organism.

The nervous system perceives stimuli from the environment. These are passed on and processed by the nervous system. It also protects the nervous system from injury. A significant part of the nervous system takes on unconscious reactions and processes, some of which are also involuntary. The nervous system also influences the function of various organs (pulse rate, blood pressure, bronchi, digestive system and others).

The two areas of the nervous system, the peripheral and central, are linked to one another. The stimuli absorbed from the environment through the eyes, ears, skin or tongue are transported via the nerve fibers and glial cells to the corresponding processing areas in the brain.

By exchanging special chemical substances, one of the best known are the neurotransmitters, the impulses are transmitted from nerve cell to nerve cell via the processes. As a control center, the brain is constructed in such a way that all incoming information is processed at a rapid pace and a reaction is triggered via the nerves leading away.

Diseases

All diseases which occurred on Nervous system are known as neurological disorders. The health disorders affect the nervous system, the spinal cord and the brain, the nerves of the periphery and the muscles.

Nervous diseases such as all types of headache, multiple sclerosis, inflammation of the central nervous system, meningitis and encephalitis are typical diseases of the nervous system.

The nervous system can also develop Parkinson's disease, cause Alzheimer's dementia or lead to epilepsy. In addition, the doctors treat a variety of diseases of the muscles that originate from the nervous system. In the context of diseases of the nervous system, tumors of the brain and all diseases that are associated with motor disorders are significant.

A number of diseases related to the nervous system have different causes. A neurological disease in the brain often occurs when the blood vessels become blocked by calcareous deposits or a blood clot. In this context, the cerebral infarction or stroke is relevant.

Many diseases that lead to extreme impairment of the state of health in the nervous system are based on inflammation or are a consequence of autoimmune diseases (multiple sclerosis and myasthenia gravis). Diseases of the nervous system caused by an infection include meningitis and encephalitis, myelitis, shingles, neuroborreliosis and infections that affect the nerves and muscle tissue.

Typical & common diseases

• Nerve pain
• Nerve inflammation
• Polyneuropathy
• epilepsy