afferent
Americanadjective
noun
adjective
-
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
- afferently adverb
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.
From a scientific perspective, warm social contact activates specialised C-tactile afferents and temperature-sensitive pathways that send signals to the insular cortex.
From Science Daily
But our skin also has sensors known as C-tactile fibers or afferents that are specifically sensitive to social touch from people and the caress of a loved one.
From Washington Post
Fairhurst, for instance, wears more perfume and spends longer washing her hair – “a direct activation” of her C-tactile afferent nerves, she thinks.
From The Guardian
These fibers, known as “C-tactile afferents” and found on places such as the forearm or back, transmit messages directly and slowly to the central nervous system.
From Washington Post
These signals shoot along thick ‘type A’ nerve fibers, or ‘afferents,’ at speeds of more than 200 miles per hour to the brain’s sensory regions.
From Science Magazine
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.
