has characteristic interneuron bipolar neuron FMA:67282 A type of interneuron that has two neurites, usually an axon and a dendrite, extending from opposite poles of an ovoid cell body. https://cellxgene.cziscience.com/cellguide/CL_0000103 ZFA:0009055 The bipolar neuron is a type of nerve cell primarily found mainly in the sensory systems of the human body. These specialized cells possess two distinctive extensions or processes - one axon and one dendrite, emerging from the cell body on opposite ends, which gives them their bipolar appearance. These two extensions serve as conduits for electrical signals, with the dendrite primarily playing the role of receiving signals, and the axon transmitting them further. Functionally, bipolar neurons are crucial in facilitating the transmission of special senses, particularly in the senses of sight, smell, hearing, and balance. For example, the bipolar neurons in the retina convey information about light intensity, color, and movement from the photoreceptors to the ganglion cells, forming part of the pathway for visual input to travel towards the brain. Similarly, in the olfactory system, the olfactory cells are bipolar neurons characterized by a peripheral process, called the olfactory rod, which projects fine cilia. These cilia are the sites of olfactory receptors which play a critical role in recognizing thousands of odorant molecules and transmit information about smell from the nose to the brain. Bipolar neurons are also involved in hearing. The vestibular ganglion contains thousands of bipolar neurons that receive sensory signals from hair cells in the inner ear. The nerve signals pass through the bipolar neurons and leave along the vestibular nerve. The morphology of bipolar neurons with their single dendrite and axon also subtly boosts their efficiency, maintaining a streamlined path for signal conduction. Their distinctive structuring allows for faster and more targeted relay of sensory information from the body's peripheries to the central nervous system. Loss or damage of these neurons would directly impact sensory reception and could lead to disorders related to vision, hearing, smell, or balance, underlining the significance of this cell type in the body's sensory capacity. (This extended description was generated by ChatGPT and reviewed by the CellGuide team, who added references, and by the CL editors, who approved it for inclusion in CL. It may contain information that applies only to some subtypes and species, and so should not be considered definitional.) cortical bipolar morphology