| Glia | |
|---|---|
 Illustration of the four different types of glial cells found in the central nervous system: ependymal cells (light pink), astrocytes (green), microglial cells (dark red) and oligodendrocytes (light blue) | |
| Details | |
| Precursor | Neuroectoderm for macroglia, and hematopoietic stem cells for microglia |
| System | Nervous system |
| Identifiers | |
| MeSH | D009457 |
| TA98 | A14.0.00.005 |
| TH | H2.00.06.2.00001 |
| FMA | 54536 54541, 54536 |
| Anatomical terms of microanatomy | |
Glia, also called glial cells (gliocytes) or neuroglia, are non-neuronal cells in the central nervous system (brain and spinal cord) and the peripheral nervous system that do not produce electrical impulses. The neuroglia make up more than one half the volume of neural tissue in the human body.[1] They maintain homeostasis, form myelin in the peripheral nervous system, and provide support and protection for neurons.[2] In the central nervous system, glial cells include oligodendrocytes, astrocytes, ependymal cells and microglia, and in the peripheral nervous system they include Schwann cells and satellite cells.
- ^ Fields, R. Douglas; Araque, Alfonso; Johansen-Berg, Heidi; Lim, Soo-Siang; Lynch, Gary; Nave, Klaus-Armin; Nedergaard, Maiken; Perez, Ray; Sejnowski, Terrence; Wake, Hiroaki (October 2014). "Glial Biology in Learning and Cognition". The Neuroscientist. 20 (5): 426–31. doi:10.1177/1073858413504465. ISSN 1073-8584. PMC 4161624. PMID 24122821.
- ^ Jessen KR, Mirsky R (August 1980). "Glial cells in the enteric nervous system contain glial fibrillary acidic protein". Nature. 286 (5774): 736–37. Bibcode:1980Natur.286..736J. doi:10.1038/286736a0. PMID 6997753. S2CID 4247900.