glymphatic system

[ glim-fat-ik ]

noun

1. Anatomy. the system or process by which cerebrospinal fluid moves through channels formed by glia, cleansing the mammalian brain of harmful waste.

Other Words From

• glym·phatic adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of glymphatic system¹

First recorded in 2008–13; glia + lymphatic system

Example Sentences

For the past 10 years, a prevailing theory has been that a key function of sleep is to wash waste products and toxins from the brain via a series of tiny channels called the glymphatic system.

From Science Magazine

A glymphatic system might still cleanse the brain, the researchers say, but sleep actually slows this cleansing down.

From Science Magazine

Her main concern, shared by others, is that inserting the dye portal damaged the brain—the glymphatic system is delicate and could easily collapse.

From Science Magazine

Peskind and her collaborators suspect the cause of the changes in the mTBI veterans' spinal fluid proteins is due to blast-related damage to a system in the brain, called the glymphatic system, that allows fluids to flow through the brain and carry away waste products.

From Science Daily

Kipnis’s team came close to finding these so-called “pipes” to clean the sewage in the brain that existed in the brain’s borders in the dura mater, operating within the glymphatic system, which is driven by force.

From Salon