The image depicts the biological makeup of a nerve cell, also known as a neuron, and its operation. At a glance, the neuron appears to function similarly to how an electrical wire works, by sending electric currents that correspond to various actions to other cells in the body.
In detail, each neuron is a component of the nervous system, and comprises of a cell body, or soma. The soma, as represented by the circle in the diagram, is surrounded by a network of dendrites, which receive information from other cells. This information, upon passing through the neuron’s cell body, would begin being transmitted on the neuron’s axon.
The axon, as the next important piece of the neuron, directs the signal from the soma to muscles, glands, or even other neurons. Each instance of a message being dispatched this way is called a neural impulse – in essence, an electrical current traversing the axon. To expedite this process, each axon may be shielded by a number of Myelin sheathes, here depicted as capsule-like shapes.
When the neural impulse has made its way past the axon, it arrives at the terminal buttons – the neuron’s final element. These buttons establish connections with other cells, and as the name implies, they deliver the signal to the destination cells of the message’s journey.