nerve: Quick Facts

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Last updated

Nov. 11, 2026

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Photos

Artist's illustration of human nerve cells showing a central neuron with a green nucleus, branching dendrites, and glowing signals traveling along axons against a dark background.

Diagram of a human figure showing the full nervous system, including the brain, spinal cord, and branching peripheral nerves throughout the body, with labels for each part.

Diagram of the autonomic nervous system showing the sympathetic and parasympathetic divisions. The left side illustrates sympathetic nerves branching from the spinal cord to organs and glands, while the right side shows parasympathetic nerves connecting to organs such as the eye, heart, lungs, liver, stomach, intestines, and bladder. Color-coded pathways and labeled ganglia highlight the different nerve routes and target organs in human anatomy.

Structures of a spinal nerve

cutaneous nerves of the head and neck

Anatomical illustration of the front of the human neck showing labeled veins in blue and nerves in yellow, including the facial, jugular, and transverse cervical veins, as well as the great auricular and supraclavicular nerves.

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Topics

efferent nerve cutaneous nerve articular nerve afferent nerve cranial nerve spinal nerve olfactory nerve general visceral afferent fibre general visceral efferent fibre ventral ramus autonomic nervous system

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Key People

Schwartz, Michal

Michal Schwartz

Israeli neuroimmunologist

Albrecht von Haller, detail of an engraving by Ambroise Tardieu after a portrait by Sigmund Freudenberger

Albrecht von Haller

Swiss biologist

Rita Levi-Montalcini

Rita Levi-Montalcini

Italian American neurologist