[Anastasiia Z] Writing Practice Test 610318

The diagram below depicts the structure of a neuron and explains the way in which it works.

Overall, it consists of six main elements, each of them performing its own function.

Like any other cell, a neuron has a body, which is called soma. It is also made up of dendrites that look like roots branching out from the main body. Each neuron has one main myelin-covered axon stretching from the cell and forming terminal buttons that consist of many branches with little swellings in the ends. Furthermore, each axon contains action potential, a special electrical signal travelling from the cell to the terminal buttons.

As can be seen, each part of the neuron plays its own role in the organism. While dendrites receive signals from other cells, axons forward these messages to other neurons, glands or muscles. They perform this part of the communication process using action potential. It should also be noted that each exon is covered with a substance, called myelin, which accelerates the passing of neural impulses. Finally, terminal buttons at the end of each axon perform the function of forming junctions with other cells.