The Histological Study Of The Nervous System

Study of the brain is significant in gaining insights on its structural and functional design and mechanisms which help explain the cause of various existing neurological and psychiatric diseases (Kotter, 2001). Consequently, the histological study of the nervous system and its components which underlies the understanding of the brain forms the basis and foundation of neuroscientific research (Annese, 2012). Important components of the nervous system include the spinal cord which consists of the grey matter with a butterfly appearance containing ventral and dorsal horns and a central canal as well as the surrounding white matter (Scholtes et al., 2008). Additionally, the cerebellum consists of the molecular layer and the granular layer which comprise the grey matter and white matter (Dell’Acqua et al., 2013). …show more content…
Important components of the neuromuscular junction where muscle innervation occurs include muscle and nerve fibres and motor end plates (Dhoot et al., 2013) whereas a neuron itself consists of a cell body or soma, axon, basal and apical dendrites (Megias et al., 2001). Neurons can be classified as excitatory or inhibitory based on their structure where excitatory neurons are typically pyramidal cells with one apical dendrite and multiple basal dendrites (Megias et al., 2001). The significant structures highlighted above would be examined and identified in the experiment using a light microscope and prepared slides of dog spinal cord, rat cerebral cortex, brain and