dendrite

American  

[den-drahyt] / ˈdɛn draɪt /

noun

1. Petrology, Mineralogy.

   1. a branching figure or marking, resembling moss or a shrub or tree in form, found on or in certain stones or minerals due to the presence of a foreign material.

   2. any arborescent crystalline growth.

2. Anatomy. the branching process of a neuron that conducts impulses toward the cell.

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dendrite British  

/ ˈdɛndraɪt, dɛnˈdrɪtɪk /

noun

1. Also called: dendron.  any of the short branched threadlike extensions of a nerve cell, which conduct impulses towards the cell body

2. a branching mosslike crystalline structure in some rocks and minerals

3. a crystal that has branched during growth and has a treelike form

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dendrite Scientific  

/ dĕn′drīt′ /

1. Any of several parts branching from the body of a neuron that receive and transmit nerve impulses.

2. A mineral that has a branching crystal pattern. Dendrites often form within or on the surface of other minerals and often consist of manganese oxides.

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Other Word Forms

• dendritic adjective
• dendritically adverb

Etymology

Origin of dendrite

1720–30; < Greek dendrī́tēs pertaining to a tree, equivalent to dendr- dendr- + -ītēs -ite ¹

Example Sentences

One specific section of the dendrite contained an unusually dense concentration of dendritic spines, forming what the researchers call a "hotspot."

From Science Daily

Cause and effect run across many scales at once, from ion channels to dendrites to circuits to whole-brain dynamics, and these levels do not behave like independent modules stacked in layers.

From Science Daily

With the help of powerful microscopes and live-cell imaging, the team watched as neurons created long, slender extensions between their dendrites -- the branching projections that connect brain cells.

From Science Daily

Importantly, it was able to reveal the features where many synapses dwell: the spines that protrude along the vine-like processes, or dendrites, that grow out of the neuron cell body.

From Science Daily

From the ceiling hung a twisted glass chandelier by Eric Dunn, its spiked lampshades mimicking the tendrils of a brain’s dendrites.

From Los Angeles Times