myelin

[ mahy-uh-lin ]
/ ˈmaɪ ə lɪn /

noun Biology.

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

QUIZZES

DO YOU KNOW THIS VOCABULARY FROM "THE HANDMAID'S TALE"?

"The Handmaid's Tale" was required reading for many of us in school. Everyone else has probably watched the very popular and addictive TV show. Do you remember this vocabulary from the book, and do you know what these terms mean?
Question 1 of 10
decorum
the act of or need for making up one's mind.
dignified propriety of behavior, speech, dress, etc.
a company of singers, especially an organized group employed in church service.
TAKE THE QUIZ TO FIND OUT
Also my·e·line [mahy-uh-leen] /ˈmaɪ əˌlin/.

Origin of myelin

First recorded in 1865–70; myel- + -in2

OTHER WORDS FROM myelin

my·e·lin·ic, adjective

Words nearby myelin

myel-, myelapoplexy, myelatelia, myelemia, myelencephalon, myelin, myelin sheath, myelinated, myelinated fiber, myelination, myelinolysis
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2020

Example sentences from the Web for myelin

British Dictionary definitions for myelin

myelin

myeline (ˈmaɪɪˌliːn)

/ (ˈmaɪɪlɪn) /

noun

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

Medical definitions for myelin

myelin
[ mī′ə-lĭn ]

n.

A white fatty material composed chiefly of alternating layers of lipids and lipoproteins that encloses the axons of myelinated nerve fibers.
Droplets of lipid formed during autolysis and postmortem decomposition.

Other words from myelin

my′e•lin′ic adj.
The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.

Scientific definitions for myelin

myelin
[ mī′ə-lĭn ]

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.
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.