myelin

[ mahy-uh-lin ]

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

Origin of myelin

1
First recorded in 1865–70; myel- + -in2
  • Also my·e·line [mahy-uh-leen]. /ˈmaɪ əˌlin/.

Other words from myelin

  • my·e·lin·ic, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

British Dictionary definitions for myelin

myelin

myeline (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

Derived forms of myelin

  • myelinic, adjective

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Scientific definitions for myelin

myelin

[ 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.

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