Unlike oligodendrocytes Schwann cells can only myelinate one axon. But the number of Schwann cells it takes to myelinate an axon depends on the axon length as a Schwann cell only myelinates one area between pairs of Nodes of Ranvier. Think of it like a string of sausage. the sting is the axon, each sausage is where a single Schwann cell myelinates that axon, as stated the length will determine the total number of Schwann cells needed for myelination, but a Schwann cell can only myelinate one axon.
1) starting with the obvious; oligodendrocytes myelinate axons in the CNS whereas schwann cells myelinate axons in the PNS 2) a single oligodendrocyte is able to myelinate multiple axons whereas a schwann cell can only myelinate a single axon. 3) schwann cell myelination allows for axonal grown and regeneration where as oligodendrocytes inhibit axonal growth and regeneration. 4).... and probably a bunch more differences
Yes, in the CNS it is oligodendrocytes that myelinate axons.
schwann cells
axons, blood vessels, connective tissue, Schwann cell.
axons, blood vessels, connective tissue, Schwann cell.
A schwann cell are supporting cells of the peripheral nervous system, they wrap themselves around nerve axons.
Myelin
First off it's SCHWANN CELLS. They are also called neurolemnocytes. They are the cells that support the peripheral nervous system. Scwann cells are any cells that are wrapped around nerve axons. A single schwann cell is a single segment of an axon's myelin sheath.
CNS: oligodendrocytes make the myelin, they cooperate in the formation of a myelin sheath along the axon, this is the process of myelination. Each oligodendrocyte produces segments of several axons.PNS: schwann cells make the myelin, each schwann cell can myelinate one segment of a single axon and they work together ot form the myelin sheath.
In the central nervous system, neuronal axons are myelinated by oligodendrocytes. In the peripheral nervous system axons are myelinated by Schwann cells.
When the peripheral nervous system develops, Schwann cells line up along unmyelinated axons at regular intervals that eventually become the nodes of Ranvier (important for saltatory nerve condution). The ensheathing process takes place as Schwann cells wrap around the axon many times over, creating concentric layers whose cytoplasm progressively condenses. Contact with the axons also activates myelin genes leading to the expression of myelin glycoproteins and lipids across the Schwann cell plasma membrane. The sheath therefore consists of plasma membrane, cytosol, lipids, glycoproteins, and the Schwann cell nucleus.*So basically, the schwann cells is a protective membrane that covers the axon. It also produces myelin sheath (the coating of a neuron), which increases the speed of the nerve impulse.
They are more or less equally spaced. The size of the nodes span from 1–2 µm whereas the internodes can be up to (and occasionally even greater than)1.5 millimeters long, depending on the axon diameter and fiber type.