Difference between axon and dendrite
Axons and dendrites are both parts of a nerve cell - they serve to transmit stimuli. But what is the difference? This question is cleared up when you consider that a nerve cell must both receive and transmit stimuli.
Nerve cell and axon
- Nervous tissue has the task of transporting information and instructions in the body from A to B. A nerve cell consists of three parts, namely the cell body itself, the axon and the dendrites. This unit is called a neuron. The cell body is basically structured like any other cell: It has a cell nucleus and cell organelles. However, it also contains the so-called Nissl clods, which are probably used for protein synthesis. In contrast to most other cells, nerve cells have the ability to generate and transmit electrical impulses.
- The axons and dendrites come into play with this forwarding. A neuron usually only has one axon. This is a cell extension, quasi a cytoplasmic protuberance, which transports electrical stimuli away from the nerve cell to other neurons or the target cell. So they are the processes leading away from the neuron. Axons can be very different in length, in fact the shortest are a few millimeters long, while, for example, the sciatic nerve is over a meter long - due to its long axon respectively. its long axons, as it is a bundle of nerve fibers.
These are dendrites in contrast to them
- The neuron has two types of processes: outgoing axons and incoming dendrites. The dendrites pick up impulses from other nerve cells and direct them to the cell body, which then directs them via the axon to the next nerve cell or to the target cell.
- Most neurons have many dendrites and thus receive information (i.e. electrical impulses) from many surrounding nerve cells. In contrast to axons, dendrites are usually rather short.
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