Term: Nervous system

Definition: The nervous system is that part of the body characterized microscopically by nerve cells and glial cells (Bullock and Horridge, 1965, pp. 6, 95); in vertebrates it consists macroscopically of central (brain and spinal cord) and peripheral (nerves, ganglia, and plexuses) divisions (Swanson, 2003, p. 40 ff.; 2004, p. 166).