| Library / English Dictionary |
MYELIN SHEATH
| Pronunciation (US): |  | (GB): | |
I. (noun)
Sense 1
Meaning:
A layer of myelin encasing (and insulating) the axons of medullated nerve fibers
Synonyms:
medullary sheath; myelin sheath
Classified under:
Hypernyms ("myelin sheath" is a kind of...):
case; sheath (an enveloping structure or covering enclosing an animal or plant organ or part)
Meronyms (parts of "myelin sheath"):
axolemma (outer membrane covering an axon)
nodes of Ranvier; Ranvier's nodes (small gaps in the myelin sheath of medullated axons)
oligodendria; oligodendroglia (tissue consisting of glial cells with sheetlike processes that form the myelin sheath of nerve fibers)
Meronyms (substance of "myelin sheath"):
medulla; myelin; myeline (a white fatty substance that forms a medullary sheath around the axis cylinder of some nerve fibers)
Holonyms ("myelin sheath" is a part of...):
medullated nerve fiber; myelinated nerve fiber (a nerve fiber encased in a sheath of myelin)
Context examples:
The most important recognized function of these cells is the formation of the insulating myelin sheaths of axons in the central nervous system.
(Murine Oligodendroglia, NLM, Medical Subject Headings)
It’s believed to be an autoimmune disease, in which the immune system mistakenly attacks the myelin sheaths that insulate nerves.
(Vitamin D Levels Predict Multiple Sclerosis Progression, NIH)
A semi-essential amino acid (children should obtain it from food) needed in humans for growth and tissue repair, Histidine is important for maintenance of myelin sheaths that protect nerve cells and is metabolized to the neurotransmitter histamine.
(Histidine, NCI Thesaurus)
