gray matter

gray matter

n.

Brownish-gray nerve tissue, especially of the brain and spinal cord, composed of nerve cell bodies and their dendrites and some supportive tissue. Also called gray substance, substantia grisea.

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gray matter

gray areas of brain and spinal cord made up primarily of cell bodies and dendrites of nerve cells rather than myelinated axons. White matter or substance is the tissue composed primarily of myelinated, or medullated, fibers.

The bodies of the nerve cells are centered in the gray matter. In the brain the gray matter may be external to white matter, e.g. cerebellum, or central to it, e.g. cerebrum. The cerebral cortex is composed of gray matter and there are some deep-seated nuclei too. In the spinal cord there is a central core of gray matter surrounded by white matter. On a cross-section of the spinal cord the gray matter follows the general pattern of the letter H.