neuron Quick reference
A Dictionary of Zoology (5 ed.)
... ( neurocyte , neurone ) A nerve cell. It is a nucleated cell through which impulses are conducted, being transferred from one neuron to the next at a synapse . Neurons are commonly long and threadlike in shape. ...
neuron Quick reference
A Dictionary of Biomedicine (2 ed.)
...neuron ( neurone , nerve cell ) An excitable cell that transmits electrical signals over long distances, up to several metres in large animals. Sensory neurons receive input from sensory cells or other neurons, and transmit a signal to muscles or other neurons. Motor neurons (motoneurons) innervate muscle; interneurons connect only with other neurons. Connections are usually through chemical synapses and signals are usually sent as action potentials , although some neurons are nonspiking...
neuron Quick reference
A Dictionary of Biology (8 ed.)
... Motor neurons conduct information from the central nervous system to effectors (e.g. muscles). Interneurons form connections between neurons in the brain and ganglia, and play a key role in interpreting and analysing sensory information. (See illustration.) See also bipolar neuron ; growth cone ; multipolar neuron ; neurite ; unipolar neuron . Sensory neuron Motor ...
neuron n. Quick reference
A Dictionary of Psychology (4 ed.)
...cell , Golgi cell , granule cell , horizontal cell , interneuron , Merkel cell , mirror neuron , mitral cell , motor neuron , multipolar neuron , non-opponent cell , opponent cell , pacemaker neuron , Purkinje cell , pyramidal cell , Renshaw cell , sensory neuron , spindle cell , spiral ganglion cell , stellate cell , unipolar neuron . See also cytoskeleton , microtubule , postsynaptic , presynaptic . neuronal adj . [Greek neuron a...
neuron n. Quick reference
A Dictionary of Nursing (8 ed.)
... ( neurone , nerve cell ) [ newr -on] n. one of the basic functional units of the nervous system: a cell specialized to transmit electrical nerve impulses and so carry information from one part of the body to another (see illustration). Impulses enter the neuron through branches of the dendrites and are carried away from the cell body through the axon (nerve fibre). They are transmitted to adjacent neurons or to effector organs through minute gaps ( see neuromuscular junction , synapse ). See also motor neuron . Types of neuron: motor (left)...
neuron Quick reference
A Dictionary of Public Health (2 ed.)
...neuron The basic functional cellular unit of the nervous system, a cell with a nucleus and long fibrils, dendrites, that connect with other nerve cells at a synapse where nerve impulses are transmitted. The cell body and dendrites receive signals from other neurons via synapses, of which there may typically be 1,000 to 10,000 per neuron in the central nervous system; the neuron transmits and receives nerve impulses by an axon ranging in length from 3 mm to more than 1 meter, often splitting into many branches near its end, transmitting signals from the neuron...
neuron n. Quick reference
Concise Medical Dictionary (10 ed.)
...except at the nerve ending . The point of contact of one neuron with another is known as a synapse . Neuron . A motor neuron (left) and a sensory neuron...
neuron Reference library
Oxford Dictionary of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (2 ed.)
... or neurone or nerve cell a cell that is specialized for the transmission of nerve impulses. Neurons are the structural and functional units of the nervous system. Each consists of an enlarged portion, the cell body or perikaryon, containing the nucleus and from which project a variable number of threadlike processes. Of these the short branched dendrites convey impulses towards the cell body, while a longer single nerve fibre, or axon, conveys impulses away from the cell body. The axon is unbranched except at the nerve ending. —neuronal ...
neuron Quick reference
World Encyclopedia
... ( nerve cell ) Basic structural unit of the nervous system , which enables rapid transmission of impulses between different parts of the body. It is composed of a cell body, containing a nucleus, and a number of trailing processes. The largest of these is the axon, which carries outgoing impulses; the rest are dendrites, which receive incoming...
neuron Reference library
Garner's Modern English Usage (5 ed.)
... (= a nerve cell that sends messages from one part of the body to another, esp. to and from the brain), a Greek loanword dating in English from the 1880s, has been predominantly so spelled since about 1905 in AmE and 1970 in BrE. Before those dates, ⋆ neurone was the usual spelling in both major varieties of English. Like vitamin (originally ⋆ vitamine ), the word lost its final e . The corresponding adjective has been predominantly neuronal since the late 1930s in AmE and the early 1940s in BrE. The earlier form was ⋆ neuronic —now a needless...
neuron Quick reference
A Dictionary of Animal Behaviour (2 ed.)
... A cell specialized for the transmission of information within the body. Each cell has a body containing a nucleus and a number of short branches called dendrites , and a single long protrusion called the axon . The dendrites connect with other neurons, and the axon conveys messages over relatively long distances within the...
bipolar neuron Quick reference
A Dictionary of Biology (8 ed.)
...bipolar neuron A neuron that has two processes, an axon and a dendron, extending in different directions from its cell body. Many sensory neurons are bipolar neurons. Compare multipolar neuron ; unipolar neuron...
unipolar neuron Quick reference
A Dictionary of Biology (8 ed.)
...unipolar neuron A neuron that has one main process, the axon, extending from its cell body. Unipolar neurons include many sensory neurons and many vertebrate motor neurons and interneurons. Compare bipolar neuron ; multipolar neuron...
multipolar neuron Quick reference
A Dictionary of Biology (8 ed.)
...multipolar neuron A neuron that has one axon and several dendrons extending from its cell body in different directions. Most vertebrate motor neurons and interneurons are multipolar neurons. Compare bipolar neuron ; unipolar neuron...
motor neuron Quick reference
A Dictionary of Biomedicine (2 ed.)
...motor neuron ( motoneuron ) A neuron that synapses on to a muscle fibre...
sensory neuron Quick reference
A Dictionary of Zoology (5 ed.)
...neuron A neuron that receives and transmits information from a sense...
monopolar neuron n. Quick reference
A Dictionary of Psychology (4 ed.)
...neuron n. Another name for a unipolar neuron . Also called a monopolar cell...
intermediary neuron n. Quick reference
A Dictionary of Psychology (4 ed.)
...neuron n . Another name for an ...
