myelin

English

Neuron, with myelin sheath labeled as e

Etymology

myelo- +‎ -in. From Ancient Greek μυελός (muelós, “marrow”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈmaɪəlɪn/

Noun

myelin (countable and uncountable, plural myelins)

1. (neuroanatomy) A white, fatty material, composed of lipids and lipoproteins, that surrounds the axons of nerves.
   • 1868 January, Edmund Montgomery, “On the Formation of so-called Cells in Animal Bodies”, in The American Journal of the Medical Sciences, page 203:

     As the result of prolonged action of water upon myelin, bird's-nests-cells are also said to be produced, and we are certain we have seen, as the result of such prolonged action of water, the appearances thus compared.

   • 2018 December 13, Carl Zimmer, “Narrower Skulls, Oblong Brains: How Neanderthal DNA Still Shapes Us”, in The New York Times‎^[1], →ISSN:

     This gene controls the production of an insulating sleeve that wraps around neurons. Known as myelin, it is crucial for long-range communication in the brain.

Derived terms

• demyelination
• myelin basic protein
• myelin oligodendrocyte glycoprotein
• myelin protein zero
• myelin sheath
• myelinate
• myelinated
• myelination
• myelinic
• myelinisation
• myelinization
• myelinogenesis
• myelinolysis
• myelinopathy
• myelinophagia
• nonmyelin

 

Related terms

• myelopathy
• myelitis

Translations

white, fatty material, composed of lipids and lipoproteins

• Catalan: mielina f
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: please add this translation if you can

• Czech: myelin m
• Finnish: myeliini (fi)
• French: myéline (fr) f
• Galician: mielina (gl) f
• Hindi: please add this translation if you can
• Irish: miailin f
• Italian: mielina (it) f
• Kurdish:

  Northern Kurdish: maylîn m

• Portuguese: mielina f
• Russian: миели́н (ru) m (mijelín)
• Serbo-Croatian: mijelin (sh) m
• Spanish: mielina (es) f

Further reading

• myelin in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913
• myelin in The Century Dictionary, New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911

Anagrams

• Milney

Czech

Noun

myelin m

1. myelin

Derived terms

• myelinový m