MYELIN SHEATH

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does myelin sheath mean? 

• MYELIN SHEATH (noun)
  The noun MYELIN SHEATH has 1 sense:

1. a layer of myelin encasing (and insulating) the axons of medullated nerve fibers

  Familiarity information: MYELIN SHEATH used as a noun is very rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• MYELIN SHEATH (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

A layer of myelin encasing (and insulating) the axons of medullated nerve fibers

Classified under:

Nouns denoting body parts

Synonyms:

medullary sheath; myelin sheath

Hypernyms ("myelin sheath" is a kind of...):

case; sheath (an enveloping structure or covering enclosing an animal or plant organ or part)

Meronyms (parts of "myelin sheath"):

axolemma (outer membrane covering an axon)

nodes of Ranvier; Ranvier's nodes (small gaps in the myelin sheath of medullated axons)

oligodendria; oligodendroglia (tissue consisting of glial cells with sheetlike processes that form the myelin sheath of nerve fibers)

Meronyms (substance of "myelin sheath"):

medulla; myelin; myeline (a white fatty substance that forms a medullary sheath around the axis cylinder of some nerve fibers)

Holonyms ("myelin sheath" is a part of...):

medullated nerve fiber; myelinated nerve fiber (a nerve fiber encased in a sheath of myelin)

 Context examples 

A broad group of disorders that affect the myelin sheaths that cover the neurons.

(Demyelinating Disorder, NCI Thesaurus)

It damages the myelin sheath, the material that surrounds and protects your nerve cells.

(Multiple Sclerosis, NIH: National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke)

This protein is involved in the structure of the myelin sheath.

(Myelin Proteolipid Protein, NCI Thesaurus)

These disorders are characterized by metabolic abnormalities in the development of the myelin sheaths in the white matter.

(Leukodystrophy, NCI Thesaurus)

A supporting cell that provides insulation to nerve cells by forming a myelin sheath (a fatty layer) around axons.

(Oligodendrocyte, The Titi Tudorancea Bulletin)

An autosomal recessive inherited disorder characterized by abnormalities in the development of the myelin sheaths.

(Metachromatic Leukodystrophy, NCI Thesaurus)

A rare metabolic disorder characterized by damage of the myelin sheaths in the nervous system and degeneration of the adrenal glands.

(Adrenoleukodystrophy, NCI Thesaurus)

Specifically, the diseases affect the myelin sheath, the material that surrounds and protects nerve cells.

(Leukodystrophies, NIH: National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke)

Neuroglial cells of the peripheral nervous system which form the insulating myelin sheaths of peripheral axons.

(Murine Schwann Cells, NCI Thesaurus)

Neuroglial cells of ectodermal origin whose processes form the myelin sheath around neuronal axons of the CNS.

(Murine Oligodendroglia, NIH CRISP Thesaurus)