What Is an Afferent Neuron?

Afferent neurons are neurons that pass information directly from the receptor to the center. Morphologically they often appear as unipolar neurons. Among them, some are transmitted through synapses, which can transfer the received information from the skin receptors to the spinal cord and brain, activating certain brain regions and causing sensations; the other part can only transmit information, not sensations, such as nerves that transmit knee reflex yuan. Because of this, some people call it afferent neurons. ^[1]

Afferent neuron

Afferent neurons are neurons that pass information directly from the receptor to the center. Morphologically they often appear as unipolar neurons. Among them, some are transmitted through synapses, which can transfer the received information from the skin receptors to the spinal cord and brain, activating certain brain regions and causing sensations; the other part can only transmit information, not sensations, such as nerves that transmit knee reflex yuan. Because of this, some people call it afferent neurons. ^[1]

Chinese name

Afferent neuron

Foreign name

afferent neuron

Function

Formation of receptors on skin and muscles

Definition

Sensory impulse

Its protrusions constitute the afferent nerves of the peripheral nerves. Nerve fibers form receptors on the skin and muscles.

Neuron structure

Although neurons have various shapes and functions, they can be roughly divided into two parts: soma and neurote. There are two types of processes: dendrite and axon.

Dendrites: dendritic cell protrusions from which nerve cells protrude. Receiving stimuli from neighboring cells is transmitted to the cell body. The dendrites receive chemicals (transmitters) released by the axons of the previous nerve, causing the nerve to generate a potential difference to form a current transmission message.

Axons: Long processes of nerve cells. It can quickly conduct nerve pulses from a long distance, transmitting signals from the cell body to other cells. There is only one axon per neuron. The thickness, slenderness, and shortness of axons of various neurons are different. Generally, thicker axons conduct faster and slower. The axon is surrounded by a myelin sheath, which has an insulating effect and can prevent nerve impulses from spreading to the surroundings to ensure the accuracy of conduction.