Neurons (nerve cells) have three parts thatcarry outthefunctionsof communication and integration: dendrites, axons, and axon terminals. They have a fourth part thecell body or soma, which carriesoutthe basic life processes of neurons.

Nerve cells serve an important function in our bodies to relay information as electrical signals from the periphery to the central nervous system. Nerve cells are also called 'neurons' andcan be as long as 3 feet. Nerve cells are composed of tiny branches called dendrons which branch into further even smaller extensions called dendrites. They also have a nucleus surrounded by cytoplasm, a cell membrane and an axon. The axon is a long fibre that is coated or insulated in a fatty sheath made out of a substance called myelin. This insulation is what adapts the neuron to carry electrical impulses from one place in the body to another.

The structure of each type of human cell depends on what function it will perform in the body. A direct relationship exists between the size and shape of every cell and the tasks it needs to accomplish.Neurons carry messages from the brain and spinal cord to the rest of the body, using electrical signals down their lengths and chemical signals between neurons. Since electrical signals travel much faster than chemical signals, neurons are long and thin to minimize the number of slower chemical signals that would be required between links in a chain of many shorter neurons.