NERVE CELL

Pronunciation (US):

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 Dictionary entry overview: What does nerve cell mean? 

• NERVE CELL (noun)
  The noun NERVE CELL has 1 sense:

1. a cell that is specialized to conduct nerve impulses

  Familiarity information: NERVE CELL used as a noun is very rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• NERVE CELL (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

A cell that is specialized to conduct nerve impulses

Classified under:

Nouns denoting body parts

Synonyms:

nerve cell; neuron

Hypernyms ("nerve cell" is a kind of...):

somatic cell; vegetative cell (any of the cells of a plant or animal except the reproductive cells; a cell that does not participate in the production of gametes)

Meronyms (parts of "nerve cell"):

axon; axone (long nerve fiber that conducts away from the cell body of the neuron)

dendrite (short fiber that conducts toward the cell body of the neuron)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "nerve cell"):

gangliocyte; ganglion cell (a nerve cell whose body is outside the central nervous system)

brain cell (a nerve cell in the brain)

efferent neuron; motoneuron; motor nerve fiber; motor neuron (a neuron conducting impulses outwards from the brain or spinal cord)

afferent neuron; sensory neuron (a neuron conducting impulses inwards to the brain or spinal cord)

Holonyms ("nerve cell" is a part of...):

nervous system; systema nervosum (the sensory and control apparatus consisting of a network of nerve cells)

 Context examples 

The nerve tissue composed of nerve cell bodies, unmyelinated nerve fibers and supportive tissue found in the brain and spinal cord.

(Gray Matter, NCI Thesaurus)

Any of the cells that hold nerve cells in place and help them work the way they should.

(Glial cell, NCI Dictionary)

It is characterized by the presence of abnormally large nerve cell axons.

(Giant Axonal Neuropathy, NCI Thesaurus)

A type of disease in which the nerve cells in the brain that act on muscle cells break down and stop working.

(Motor neuron disease, NCI Dictionary)

An embryonic nerve cell capable of differentiating into a neuron.

(Murine Neuroblast, NCI Thesaurus)

A layer of nerve cells in the retina.

(Neural Retina, NCI Thesaurus)

Processes that promote, sustain, and preserve nerve cell viability.

(Nerve Cell Survival, NCI Thesaurus)

A group of genetic neurological disorders caused by mutations in genes involved in the sodium and calcium channels in nerve cells.

(Familial Periodic Paralysis, NCI Thesaurus)

The seizures happen when clusters of nerve cells, or neurons, in the brain send out the wrong signals.

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

Due to the structural similarity to adenosine, caffeine binds to and blocks adenosine receptors, thereby preventing the inhibitory effects of adenosine on nerve cells.

(Caffeine, NCI Thesaurus)