A word is one or more sounds that in combination have a specific meaning assigned by a language. The symbolic meaning of words can be so powerful that people are willing to risk their lives for them or take the lives of others.
A nerve impulse is the relaying of a coded signal from a nerve cell to an effector (a muscle cell, a gland cell or another nerve cell) in response to a stimulus. It is the means by which a nerve cell communicates with another cell.
Speed of Impulses. Neurones send messages electrochemically; this means that chemicals (ions) cause an electrical impulse. Neurones and muscle cells are electrically excitable cells, which means that they can transmit electrical nerve impulses. These impulses are due to events in the cell membrane, so to understand the nerve impulse we need to revise some properties of cell membranes.