What do oligodendrocytes do?

What do oligodendrocytes do?

• A. Produce Myelin in CNS
• B. Produce Myelin in the PNS
• C. Support Neurons
• D. Transmit Signals

Answer: (A)

Oligodendrocytes are glial cells in the central nervous system that form the myelin sheath around axons. They extend several processes that wrap around different axons, creating insulated segments called myelin internodes. This myelin insulation speeds up electrical conduction along the nerve fiber through saltatory conduction, where impulses jump from one gap (node of Ranvier) to the next. This role is specific to the CNS; in the peripheral nervous system, Schwann cells perform myelination. While glial cells do support neurons in many ways, the defining function described here is producing CNS myelin, which is why this choice best fits.

Oligodendrocytes are glial cells in the central nervous system that form the myelin sheath around axons. They extend several processes that wrap around different axons, creating insulated segments called myelin internodes. This myelin insulation speeds up electrical conduction along the nerve fiber through saltatory conduction, where impulses jump from one gap (node of Ranvier) to the next. This role is specific to the CNS; in the peripheral nervous system, Schwann cells perform myelination. While glial cells do support neurons in many ways, the defining function described here is producing CNS myelin, which is why this choice best fits.