Botany, zoology and anatomy define tissue as the set of cells that share certain characteristics and that act in a coordinated way to fulfill a function. The nervous system is related to the nerves (fibers responsible for conducting impulses from the central nervous system to different sectors of the body).
Nervous tissue, therefore, is what makes up the organs that are part of the nervous system. This specific tissue is made up of two types of cells: glial cells (or neuroglia cells) and nerve cells (known as neurons), along with their processes.
Neurons specialize in capturing stimuli and conducting nerve impulses. Its function is to electrically excite the plasma membrane to achieve this conduction. The glial cells, in turn, act as support for these nerve cells. The idea of nervous tissue encompasses all these cells and their interconnections. The reception of the stimulus by the neuron, its conversion into nerve impulses and its transmission to other parts of the body allow the sensations to be processed and a motor reaction to be initiated. If the process is observed in detail, in the nervous tissue we can recognize the sensory neurons (which capture the impulse that originates in the receptor cells), the motor neurons (which are responsible for transmitting the impulse to the organs) and the connective neurons. (relate sensory neurons to motor neurons). Glial cells, in this context, have the function of bringing nutrients to different neurons and protecting them. To all this we can add other information of interest about the so-called glial cells or neuroglia cells, among them:
-They can be more numerous than neurons and have the particularity of being smaller than these.
-There are several types, such as oligodendrocytes, astrocytes, ependymal cells and microglia.
-The oligodendrocytes are important since in the nervous system they are responsible for the production of myelin, which is responsible for the electrical impulses to develop effectively, quickly and efficiently.
-Astrocia has an arborescent appearance, that is, it appears in the form of a tree and can also be called macroglial cells.
-Ependymal cells are other cells of the nervous tissue that are identified because they play an important role in the formation of what is known as cerebrospinal fluid.
-Microglia, meanwhile, are very small and their main mission is to engulf neurons that, for various reasons, have disintegrated or been destroyed.
There are many diseases and conditions that can affect nerve tissue and the nervous system in general. Specifically, among the most recognized are stroke, severe headaches, Parkinson’s, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, multiple sclerosis, narcolepsy or the so-called Gilles de la Tourette syndrome. All this without forgetting ataxia, restless legs syndrome or intracranial hypertension.
