A nerve is a group of special nerve cells grouped together in parallel. Another word for nerve cell is neuron. The special neurons grouped together in nerves take information (messages) to and from the human body to the central nervous system. The central nervous system (acronym) CNS is the brain and spinal cord. The spinal cord is the big cord that goes from the brain into the back. It carries all the information that goes from the brain to the nerves in the body.