Neural cells consist of a cell body , which contains the nucleus, as well as extensions called fibers . Nerve cells, which can measure up to two meters in length, are thus well suited to transmitting messages from one part of an organism to another. Nerve cells convert stimuli into electrochemical impulses and transmit the signals down their lengths. Sensory neurons lead away from the receptor cells, where a stimulus is received, while motor neurons lead toward effector cells, where a response to a stimulus may be exacted. In between sensory and motorneurons may lie interneurons .
Vertebrates have neurons with one or more fibers.
In neurons with two or more fibers, the fibers are usually of two different types. Dendrites are the fibers that receive excitation from other cells and transmit the stimulation to the cell body. A single neuron often has many dendrites which are often multi-branched themselves. Dendrites are relatively short in length in comparison with a neuron's axon. The axon leads impulses away from the cell body and toward other neural cells.