Question

Distinguish between afferent neurons and efferent neurons.

Answer 1

Hint: Axons are classified into two systems. Erlanger and Gasser grouped the fibers into groups A, B, and C which include both the sensory fibers (afferents) and the motor fibers (efferents). Group A, was subdivided into alpha, beta, gamma, and delta fibers. Motor neurons of different motor fibers were the lower motor neurons – alpha motor neuron, beta motor neuron, and gamma motor neuron.

Complete answer:
Afferent neurons are sensory neurons carrying nerve impulses from sensory stimuli towards the central nervous system and brain, while efferent neurons are motor neurons that carry neural impulses away from the CNS and towards muscles.

Afferent Neurons	Efferent Neurons
They conduct sensory impulses from the receptors to the CNS.	They conduct motor impulses from CNS to the effector organs.
They are present in sense organs.	They are present in the brain and the spinal cord.
They are sensory neurons.	They are motor neurons.
These are the sensory neurons.	These are the motor neurons.
They play a role in carrying information from organs to the brain or spinal cord.	They play a role in carrying information from the brain or spinal cord to the organ.
The dendrite is long and the axon is short.	They have a short dendrite and a long axon.
The cell body is round-shaped.	The cell body is satellite shaped.
These are situated outside the CNS.	These are situated inside the CNS.

Note:
The afferent and efferent neurons are not long enough to go from far away regions, for example, big toe up to the brain. Therefore, afferent and efferent neurons use a neuron that forms a connection between two or more neurons and called interneuron or association neuron which is the most abundant type of neuron in our body.