Anatomical model of a motor neuron

Anatomically speaking, the model can be used to understand how a motor neuron is structured. Motor neurons have a cell body (soma) from which a larger number of offshoots emanate:




Dendrites - the short processes found in large numbers. Here, the motor neuron receives information from surrounding neurons.


Axonet - the single long outgrowth. Here, the motor neuron sends information to muscle fibers, which initiates the contraction in these.


The cell body is cut in half so that the cytoplasm with the cell's organelles becomes visible. The following organelles are seen, among others:




The core (nucleus)
Golgi apparatus
The endoplasmic reticulum (both rough and smooth)
Mitochondria


The model also shows a Ranvier constriction. It is the area between two myelin sheaths, each formed by a Schwann cell. Part of the model can be removed here, so that the individual layers in the myelin sheath can be seen.

Clinically, the model can be used to describe and understand diseases that affect the motor neurons. It can be both diseases that affect the myelin sheaths, such as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), or diseases that affect the nerve tissue itself, e.g. neuropathies (inflammation of the nerves).