The spinal cord is the main neural transmission highway in the human body and other mammals. It provides the brain with sensory information from nerve endings throughout the body, and allows the central nervous system to effectively control its remote processes. This a cross-section through a spinal cord. You can see the protective meninges -{1} which surrounds the cord. It encloses grey matter and white matter, which here, are represented by brown/yellow colours. The grey matter is labelled as {2}, and is the larger central area of lighter colour in this image; the darker areas being white matter. The central canal -{3} is filled with cerebrospinal fluid which acts as a transport system in the central nervous system. White matter consists of ascending and descending nerve fibres and myelinated axons - there are no nuclei. Sensory neurones enter the spinal cord via the dorsal root, upper left of the area marked as {2} in this image. These connect with relay neurones in the grey matter, which themselves connect to motor neurones leaving the spinal cord via the ventral root (not visible in this image).
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