A nerve is an enclosed, cable-like bundle of peripheral axons (the long, slender projections of neurons). A nerve provides a common pathway for the electrochemical nerve impulses that are transmitted along each of the axons. Nerves are found only in the peripheral nervous system. In the central nervous system, the analogous structures are known as tracts.

Neurons are sometimes called nerve cells, though this term is technically inaccurate since many neurons do not form nerves, and nerves also include non-neuronal Schwann cells that coat the axons in myelin.

Anatomy

Nerves are categorized into three groups based on the direction that signals are conducted:

• Afferent nerves conduct signals from sensory neurons to the central nervous system, for example from the mechanoreceptors in skin.
• Efferent nerves conduct signals from the central nervous system along motor neurons to their target muscles and glands.
• Mixed nerves contain both afferent and efferent axons, and thus conduct both incoming sensory information and outgoing muscle commands in the same bundle.

Nerves can also be categorized into two groups based on where they connect to the central nervous system:

• Spinal nerves innervate much of the body, and connect through the spinal column to the spinal cord. They are given letter-number designations according to the vertebra through which they connect to the spinal column.
• Cranial nerves innervate parts of the head, and connect directly to the brainstem. They are typically assigned Roman numerals from I to XII, although cranial nerve zero is sometimes included. In addition, cranial nerves have descriptive names.

Each nerve is covered externally by a dense sheath of connective tissue, the epineurium. Underlying this is a layer of flat cells, the perineurium, which forms a complete sleeve around a bundle of axons. Perineurial septae extend into the nerve and subdivide it into several bundles of fibers. Surrounding each such fibre is the endoneurium. This forms an unbroken tube which extends from the surface of the spinal cord to the level at which the axon synapses with its muscle fibers, or ends in sensory receptors. The endoneurium consists of an inner sleeve of material called the glycocalyx and an outer, delicate, meshwork of collagen fibers. Nerves are bundled along with blood vessels, since the neurons of a nerve have fairly high energy requirements.