Compare Brain and Body Sizes
The Neuron- Up Close and Personal
*Here are some interesting facts and statistics about neurons in humans and other animals:
Average number of neurons in the human brain= 100 billion
(remember that these are averages because there is lots of variability in the nervous system!!)
Guess what? There are more nerve cells in the human brain than there are stars in the Milky Way.
Well, let's think about this... Let's assume that one neuron is about 10 microns long. Remember, this is just an example, because neurons come in all different sizes. So, if we line up 100 billion neurons which are 10 microns long . . .
100,000,000,000 neurons x 10 microns= 1000 km or about 600 miles!
1000 microns= 1milimeter (mm)
10 mm= 1centimeter (cm)
100 cm= 1 meter (m)
1000 m= 1 kilometer (km)
*(see bibliography for sources of these statistics, particularly www.soton.ac.uk)
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