myelin

[ mahy-uh-lin ]

noun

, Biology.

1. a soft, white, fatty material in the membrane of Schwann cells and certain neuroglial cells: the substance of the myelin sheath.

myelin

/ ˈmaɪɪˌliːn; ˈmaɪɪlɪn /

noun

1. a white tissue forming an insulating sheath ( myelin sheath ) around certain nerve fibres. Damage to the myelin sheath causes neurological disease, as in multiple sclerosis

myelin

/ mī′ə-lĭn /

1. A whitish, fatty substance that forms a sheath around many vertebrate nerve fibers. Myelin insulates the nerves and permits the rapid transmission of nerve impulses. The white matter of the brain is composed of nerve fibers covered in myelin.

Derived Forms

• ˌmyeˈlinic, adjective

Other Words From

• mye·linic adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of myelin¹

First recorded in 1865–70; myel- + -in ²

Example Sentences

When researchers repeated the drug injections or brain stimulation for several days, then examined the mice a month later, they indeed found more oligodendrocytes and more myelinated dopamine-producing cells, with thicker myelin around their axons, again only in the ventral tegmental area.

From Science Daily

"Details matter in terms of myelin plasticity," Yalcin said.

From Science Daily

In adaptive myelination, more active brain circuits gain more myelin -- the fatty insulation that allows electrical signals to travel faster and more efficiently through nerve fibers.

From Science Daily

"Myelin development does not complete until we're in our late 20s or early 30s, which is kind of fascinating," said Michelle Monje, MD, PhD, the Milan Gambhir Professor in Pediatric Neuro-Oncology and senior author of the study.

From Science Daily

Even after such a protracted developmental period, special cells in the brain called oligodendrocytes continue to generate new myelin in some brain regions.

From Science Daily