This learning model is currently available in English.
Explore the system
From input to output
Trace dendrites → cell body → axon → axon terminal. Myelin wraps the axon; the signal travels along it.
Sources and model limits
Original schematic. Positions show relationships; structures and concentrations are not to scale.
- Julien's Primer of Drug Action · 15 · 2 · From input to output · PDF 22 · 2.1
- Professor deck 2 · Neuron and action potential · PDF 10, 11, 12, 15, 18
Course notes and existing practice
Learning objective
Identify the principal neuron parts and apply pre/postsynaptic labels to a specific connection.
Input, cell body, and output
The neuron diagram labels dendrites as receiving signals, the cell body as containing the nucleus and cellular machinery, and the axon as carrying signals toward terminal branches. Synaptic vesicles in the terminal store transmitter. Myelin covers some axons and supports faster impulse transmission. This is the course’s introductory organization, not a claim that every neuron has an identical shape.
Labels depend on the connection
Presynaptic and postsynaptic describe a relationship at a particular synapse, not permanent classes of neuron. A cell can receive an input at one synapse and send an output at another. Always identify the connection before assigning these labels.
- Dendrite
- A neuronal process shown receiving signals in the introductory neuron model.
- Axon
- A neuronal process that carries signals toward terminal outputs in the introductory model.
- Presynaptic
- On the sending side of the particular synapse being discussed.
- Postsynaptic
- On the receiving side of the particular synapse being discussed.
- Synaptic vesicle
- A membrane-bound sac that stores transmitter within a neuron.
Professor deck 2, PDF pages 10, 15, 18. Explanation and terminology are paraphrased course material. Examples and study prompts are original, unscored teaching aids. Source conformance is separate from scientific or clinical review.
Worked examples are original instructional illustrations; they are not professor quotations or exam requirements.