node of Ranvier

American  

[rahn-vyey, rahn-vyey] / rɑnˈvyeɪ, ˈrɑn vyeɪ /

noun

Cell Biology.

1. a gap occurring at regular intervals between segments of myelin sheath along a nerve axon.

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node of Ranvier British  

/ ˈrɑːnvɪˌeɪ /

noun

1. any of the gaps that occur at regular intervals along the length of the sheath of a myelinated nerve fibre, at which the axon is exposed

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Etymology

Origin of node of Ranvier

1880–85; after Louis-Antoine Ranvier (1835–1922), French histologist, who described it in 1878

Example Sentences

Surrounding the node of Ranvier is a glial cell called an astrocyte.

From Scientific American • Mar. 12, 2020

The myelin sheath is attached to the axon by a spiral junction flanking the node of Ranvier.

From Scientific American • Mar. 12, 2020

Sodium ions that enter the cell at the initial segment start to spread along the length of the axon segment, but there are no voltage-gated Na+ channels until the first node of Ranvier.

From Textbooks • Jun. 19, 2013

If the node were any farther down the axon, that depolarization would have fallen off too much for voltage-gated Na+ channels to be activated at the next node of Ranvier.

From Textbooks • Jun. 19, 2013

This point is known as the node of Ranvier.

From A Practical Physiology by Blaisdell, Albert F.