How it works
Imagine you're playing catch with a friend. When the ball comes toward you, your eye sends a message to your brain through a nerve, like sending a signal through a phone line. Then your brain tells your hand to move, and that happens because another nerve carries the message from your brain to your muscles.
Each of those little cables inside the telephone wires is an axon. When they're all grouped together, they make a bundle, kind of like how straws are bundled together in a pack at the store. These bundles help messages travel faster and farther through your body.
So next time you catch a ball or laugh with a friend, remember: it’s all because of those tiny, busy axons working together inside your nerves!
Examples
- A nerve is like a telephone cable made of many wires (axons) that carry messages from your brain to your hand.
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See also
- What are hypocretin neurons?
- What are dendrites?
- What are neurons with cell bodies?
- What are sensory neurons?
- What are second-order neurons?