myelin

American  

[mahy-uh-lin] / ˈmaɪ ə lɪn /

Also myeline

noun

Biology.

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

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myelin British  

/ 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

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myelin Scientific  

/ mī′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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Other Word Forms

• myelinic adjective

Etymology

Origin of myelin

First recorded in 1865–70; myel- + -in ²

Example Sentences

Oligodendrocytes, the cells that produce myelin to insulate nerve fibers, expressed fewer genes required for maintaining and regenerating the myelin sheath.

From Science Daily

The research showed that MS first targets the myelin sheath.

From Science Daily

In MS, the immune system mistakenly attacks the myelin sheath, a protective layer that insulates nerve fibers.

From Science Daily

The drug targets certain immune cells involved in inflammation and myelin damage in MS.

From BBC

In adaptive myelination, more active brain circuits gain more myelin -- the fatty insulation that allows electrical signals to travel faster and more efficiently through nerve fibers.

From Science Daily