Axon Growth and Branching

One striking feature of the nervous system is the long processes or the axons extending out from the soma. They transmit electric signals that are collected at the dendrites and integrated at the axonal hillock. Each neuron has only one axon, which can reach their synaptic targets as far as 1 m away in humans. To connect with multiple targets, branches sprout at different locations, either along the axonal shaft as interstitial collaterals or at the nerve endings as terminal arbors.