The body is efficient – if it doesn’t need to do a certain function, like create new pathways for information to travel between the body and the brain, it stops putting energy into that area and focuses on other activities. Therefore, after a few years, the development of nerve cells slows down. But, once these pathways in the body were established, there was no need to develop new pathways for information to travel through the body. The brain gathers information and tells the legs how to move, how to hold a pencil, or what color to color with. You were learning how to walk, talk, read, write, catch a ball, and recognize danger – all of these activities require nerve cells to relay information to the brain. When you were a child, nerve cells were developed quickly and efficiently. Every organ down to the tip of your toes connects to the spinal cord through nerve cells. The central pathway between the brain and the rest of the body is the spinal cord. Additionally, nerve cells also communicate touch, sensation, and body movement to the brain so that the body can walk or shiver when it’s cold or remove your hand from a hot plate. For instance, reading a book requires nerve cells in the eyes to relay light and reflection to the brain so that the brain can translate the patterns into understanding. Nerve cells communicate information from your entire body to the brain and from the brain to the rest of the body. In other organs, however, such as the pancreas and the heart, stem cells only divide under special conditions. For instance, in some organs such as the gut and bone marrow, stem cells regularly divide to repair and replace worn out or damaged tissues. Some areas of the body get many new stem cells joining their ranks as long as you are alive. Stem cells can also help heal the body when it is damaged. A skin cell can never become a heart cell and vice versa. Once the stem cell has been told what to become, it will play that role forever. so that you could grow into a full grown adult. Some went on to form the brain, others the heart, some the eyes, and so on until a fully formed baby was developed.Īs you grew, your body continued to create new cells by dividing stem cells and sending them off to become bigger, stronger bones, blood, skin, etc. These cells then divided – sometimes they were told to stay stem cells and other times they were told to become a specific cell in the body – to perform a specific role. When you were first formed in your mother’s uterus, you started as a just a few stem cells. Think of them as cells waiting around for something to do. Every cell in your body was once a stem cell. Stem cells are cells that have not been assigned a role in the body. So, why is it that when I cut my skin my body can make new skin cells and heal the injury, but, when I injured my spine, it won’t heal? Why does my body heal one part of the body but not the other? Each of these cells performs different functions and keep our bodies working properly. We even have cells that circulate through our bodies just fighting infections and keeping us healthy! There are more than 220 cell types in the adult body. We have skin cells, heart cells, muscle cells, bone cells, nerve cells, kidney cells. The fact is our bodies are made up many different types of cells. Have you ever thought about where you come from? How you were made? How did you grow from two tiny cells from your mother and father into a human mass of cells all performing independent functions? Spinal Cord Injury Rehabilitation and Treatment - Craig Hospitalīrain Injury Rehabilitation Center - Craig Hospital
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