afferent
Americanadjective
noun
adjective
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Carrying sensory information toward a central organ or part, as a nerve that conducts impulses from the periphery of the body to the central nervous system.
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Compare efferent
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of afferent
1830–40; < Latin afferent- (stem of afferēns, present participle of afferre ), equivalent to af- af- + fer- (stem of ferre to carry) + -ent- -ent
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
These again split to form arcuate arteries, from which cortical radiate arteries radiate out and branch into many afferent arterioles that enter the capillaries supplying the nephrons.
From Textbooks ● Jun. 9, 2022
The branch that enters the glomerulus is called the afferent arteriole.
From Textbooks ● Jun. 9, 2022
It constricts the afferent arterioles, causing the flow of blood into the nephrons to stop.
From Textbooks ● Jun. 9, 2022
In proprioception, proprioceptive and kinesthetic signals travel through myelinated afferent neurons running from the spinal cord to the medulla.
From Textbooks ● Jun. 9, 2022
Ligation of the main afferent vessels, or of the external or common carotid, has been followed by recurrence, owing to the free anastomatic circulation in the scalp.
From Manual of Surgery Volume Second: Extremities—Head—Neck. Sixth Edition. by Alexander Miles
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
