WHAT ARE THE MAIN STRUCTURAL FEATURES OF A NEURON? Help!?

I may be missing some parts, but of the neuron (nerve cell) itself, it’s the axon (there’s just one) and dendrites (there are many). The dendrites usually receive signals, whereas the axon usually sends signals.

All cells except red blood cells have nuclei, so I won’t mention the nucleus, even though it’s technically a structural feature. Somewhere between receiving and sending the signal, the nerve cell “decides” (actually a biochemical process and not conscious thought!) whether to excite or inhibit the next nerve cell it touches. Generally speaking, when enough of the incoming dendrites on a neuron are excited, the axon will fire an excitatory signal. If enough dendrites are inhibited, the axon’s effect on the cells it touches will be inhibitory.

At the end of each of them is a spot where the nerve cell meets up with another nerve cell. That part is called the synapse, and it is from the synapse that substances called neurotransmitters are released, which chemically assist transmission of the nerve impulse (signal) to the next cell.

The effect of an axon on an adjoining nerve cell can be either excitatory (causing something to happen) or inhibitory (causing something to NOT happen). Over time, repeated firing of either excitatory or inhibitory “pathways” (persistent connections among multiple nerve cells) forms the basis of permanent learning.

This is oversimplified but it should do.

Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neuron