All cells possess the ability to respond to stimuli. However, cells of the nervous tissue are highly specialised for being stimulated and then transmitting the stimulus very rapidly from one place to another within the body.
The brain, spinal cord and nerves are all composed of the nervous tissue. The cells of this tissue are called nerve cells or neurons.
A neuron consists of a cell body with a nucleus and cytoplasm, from which long thin hair-like parts arise .
Usually each neuron has a single long part (process), called the axon, and many short, branched parts (processes) called dendrites. An individual nerve cell may be up to a metre long. Many nerve fibres bound together by connective tissue make up a nerve.
The signal that passes along the nerve fibre is called a nerve impulse. Nerve impulses allow us to move our muscles when we want to. The
functional combination of nerve and muscle tissue is fundamental to most animals. This combination enables animals to move rapidly in response to stimuli.