The peripheral nervous system

2. Unit 1-The
peripheral
nervous system

3. Review:
The spinal cord is made up
of nerve tissue and runs
from our brain down our
spine. The spinal cord is
protected by the vertebrae.
It controls our reflex
actions. (Find information
about reflex action
mechanism)

4. The peripheral nervous system
The peripheral nervous
system is made up of nerves.
Nerves are tiny cells called
“neurons” that transfer
information through nervous
system using electrical and
chemical signals. Different
neurons have different jobs.
(For example, what is a task
of sensory neurons?)

5. What is a neuron ?
Neurons are the
building blocks of the
nervous system. The
neurons are simply the
nerve cells that make
up the nervous system.
These cells are
designed to get
information quickly to
your brain.

6. ● For example if you put your hand on
something hot, you want to know as quickly
as possible so you can let go of the hot object
and decrease the damage to your hand.
(What does the brain do to avoid the
damage?)

7. What do the different parts of a neuron
do?

8. Parts of a neuron
The nucleus
of a cell is
the “Brain”
of the cell. It
helps the cell
to take in
nutrients,
create new
cells, and
move.
Axons take away
information from the cell
body.
Dendrites bring
electrical messages to
the cell body

9. ● Neurons are the main cells that make up the entire
nervous system. Neurons send messages throughout
the body in the form of small impulses of electricity.
Neurons receive messages from other neurons using
their dendrites. Neurons send messages to other
neurons using their axons.

10. The steps
1). Sensory neurons collect
information from our sense
organs (eyes, ears, nose,
tongue, and skin)
2). The brain interprets the
information and sends signals
to the rest of the body
3). Motor Neurons send
messages from the brain to
our locomotor system.

11. ● Make mind map of “a neuron”
and “the peripheral nervous
system”.

12. What would happen if we didn't have a
peripheral nervous system ?
Without the nervous system our brain would
be useless. We would not know anything
that´s happening to our body, and we would
not be able to move our bodies.
The brain and spinal cord make up our
central nervous system, and the rest of our
nerves make up what is called our peripheral
nervous system.