What is a ganglion?

What is a ganglion?

• A. A section of the brain
• B. The branch nerve from the spinal cord
• C. A cluster of nerve cells
• D. The motor neurons for one specific movement

Answer: (C)

A ganglion is a cluster of nerve cell bodies located outside the central nervous system. This arrangement lets signals be processed or relayed in the peripheral nervous system before they enter or leave the spinal cord. The dorsal root ganglion is a classic example, containing the cell bodies of sensory neurons whose axons travel into the spinal cord. In contrast, a section of the brain is part of the CNS and isn’t described as a peripheral cluster of cell bodies. A branch nerve from the spinal cord is a bundle of axons, not a collection of neuron cell bodies. The motor neurons for a specific movement reside in motor nuclei within the CNS or in peripheral nerves, not in a ganglion as a group of cell bodies. So the correct description is a cluster of nerve cells.

A ganglion is a cluster of nerve cell bodies located outside the central nervous system. This arrangement lets signals be processed or relayed in the peripheral nervous system before they enter or leave the spinal cord. The dorsal root ganglion is a classic example, containing the cell bodies of sensory neurons whose axons travel into the spinal cord. In contrast, a section of the brain is part of the CNS and isn’t described as a peripheral cluster of cell bodies. A branch nerve from the spinal cord is a bundle of axons, not a collection of neuron cell bodies. The motor neurons for a specific movement reside in motor nuclei within the CNS or in peripheral nerves, not in a ganglion as a group of cell bodies. So the correct description is a cluster of nerve cells.