cell body

American  

noun

Biology.

1. the compact area of a nerve cell that constitutes the nucleus and surrounding cytoplasm, excluding the axons and dendrites.

---

cell body Scientific  

1. The portion of a neuron that contains the nucleus but does not incorporate the dendrites or axon.

---

Etymology

Origin of cell body

First recorded in 1875–80

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

cell body

They move and feed by extending parts of their cell body, a process that gives them their distinctive shape.

From Science Daily ● May 2, 2026

And hundreds of centrioles, intended for eventual construction of cilia at the cell surface, got stuck in the cell body.

From Science Daily ● Jun. 6, 2024

Among neurons, in contrast, the fusion happened farther away from the cell body, at long, thin extensions known as dendrites and axons, which are critical for cell-cell communication.

From Science Magazine ● Jun. 6, 2023

Indeed, every 3-cm increase in axon length is calculated to add more than double the volume of the neuronal cell body to the axon each day.

From Scientific American ● Sep. 29, 2022

Cytoplasm: the protoplasm of a cell exclusive of nucleus; the cell body.

From Explanation of Terms Used in Entomology by Smith, John. B.