What is a nerve though?

When researching, I wondered if it would be interesting and beneficial to actually come to terms with what a nerve actually is. What is it? It takes pride in appearing in the title of Artaud's poem and his ideas are based around this body function. SO WHAT IS A NERVE?

Nerves, or neurons, run throughout the human body, connecting everything together like a telephone network. The nerves in the central part of your body and brain form the central nervous system, whereas those in your arms and legs form the peripheral nervous system. The nerves act as a communication system, carrying information from one area of the body to another.

What do nerves do?

There are different types of nerves, and each has a special function in the communication system. For example, if you touch something hot, sensory neurons carry information up the spinal column to your brain. The brain then processes the information and sends it back down to your muscles via motor neurons. This information results in muscle contraction, i.e. removing your hand from the source of heat. All this happens in a matter of microseconds.
In the eye there are special nerves, called optic nerves, which take information that you receive in your eye to your brain.