Neuron anatomy About the anatomy of neurons Neurons are the building blocks of the nervous system. A typical neuron consists of a cell body (soma), dendrites, and a single axon. Dendrites and axons form filamentous extensions of the soma. Dendrites typically branch profusely as they extend from the soma. An axon can be as long as a metre in length. At the farthest tip of the axon’s branches are axon terminals, where the neuron can transmit a signal across a synapse to another cell.
Neurons & the human retina About neurons and the human retina There are two principal types of neurons in the retina of the human eye: the rod and cone photoreceptors and ganglion cells. There are four principal types of interneurons in the retina of the human eye: horizontal cells, Müller cells, bipolar cells and amacrine cells. Rod and cone photoreceptors are sensitive to light and encode it into electrical signals that are transmitted via a complex network of interneurons to the ganglion cells, which then forward visual information via the optic nerve towards the brain.