Central Nervous System

The Central Nervous System is in charge of receiving the stimuli that come from both the external environment and the organism itself, and of elaborating the responses.

The Central Nervous System is the body's control and coordination center. It is made up:

• The encephalon.
• The spinal cord.

By Xtabay (Own work) [GFDL or CC BY 3.0], via Wikimedia Commons

The Central Nervous System is very important and delicate, so it is protected to avoid possible injuries by:

• The skull and spinal column, bone protection inside which it is found .
• The meninges, three membranes that protect the Central Nervous System, located below the bone. From the innermost to the outermost, they are called the pia mater, arachnoid mater, and dura mater. Between the pia mater and the arachnoid is the cerebrospinal fluid, which cushions the effect of blows on the nerve centers and prevents trauma.

By SVG by Mysid, original by SEER Development Team [1]. Translated by Angelito7 (File:Meninges-en.svg) [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons

Activity: Parts of the Central Nervous System.

 In the Central Nervous System, two different-looking areas are distinguished:

• The gray matter, made up of neuronal bodies and dendrites. It is located in the cortex of the encephalon and inside the spinal cord. They constitute the control center.
• The white matter, made up of axons  covered in myelin. It is located inside the encephalon and outside the spinal cord.