Parts of a Neuron
Colour by Numbers Activity
The content in this activity aligns with Chapter 16: Nervous System in Building a Medical Terminology Foundation 2e.
Instructions: Review the illustration. This illustration displays the parts of neuron.
Task: Colour each numbered structure using the colour indicated in the list below:
- cell body (green)
- cell membrane (dark blue)
- dendrites (orange)
- axon (purple)
- Node of Ranvier (pink)
- oligodendrocyte (green)
- myelin sheath (yellow)
- synapse (light blue)
Image Attribution
The image used in this activity was sourced from OpenStax Anatomy and Physiology OER by Betts, et al., which is licensed under CC BY 4.0. Following OpenStax’s leadership and in the spirit of open education, we have licensed this OER with the same license.
Image Description
This illustration shows the anatomy of a neuron. The neuron has a very irregular cell body (soma) containing a purple nucleus. There are six projections protruding from the top, bottom and left side of the cell body. Each of the projections branches many times, forming small, tree-shaped structures protruding from the cell body. The right side of the cell body tapers into a long cord called the axon. The axon is insulated by segments of myelin sheath, which resemble a semitransparent toilet paper roll wound around the axon. The myelin sheath is not continuous but is separated into equally spaced segments. The bare axon segments between the sheath segments are called nodes of Ranvier. An oligodendrocyte is reaching its two arm like projections onto two myelin sheath segments. The axon branches many times at its end, where it connects to the dendrites of another neuron. Each connection between an axon branch and a dendrite is called a synapse. The cell membrane surrounds the cell body, dendrites, and its axon. The axon of another nerve is seen in the upper left of the diagram connecting with the dendrites of the central neuron.