Nerve glial cell Microglia Low-poly 3D model

Microglia, type of neuronal support cell (neuroglia) occurring in the central nervous system of invertebrates and vertebrates that functions primarily as an immune cell.

As the name microglia suggests, these cells are small—the smallest of all the neuroglia. Microglia nuclei are typically oval-shaped, and projecting out from their cell bodies are slender elongated processes that enable the cells to move via chemotaxis (movement along a chemical gradient). For many years the function of microglia was unclear. However, today it is known that these cells mediate immune responses in the central nervous system by acting as macrophages, clearing cellular debris and dead neurons from nervous tissue through the process of phagocytosis (cell eating)