| myelin sheath n. The insulating envelope of myelin that surrounds the core of a nerve fiber or axon and that facilitates the transmission of nerve impulses, formed from the cell membrane of the Schwann cell in the peripheral nervous system and from oligodendroglia cells. Also called medullary sheath. |
Myelin sheath
The cover that surrounds many nerve cells and helps to increase the speed by which information travels along the nerve.
Mentioned in: Acoustic Neuroma
myelin sheath,
a segmented fatty lamination composed of myelin that wraps the axons of many nerves in the body. The usual thickness of the myelin sheath is between 200 and 800 μm. Various diseases such as multiple sclerosis can destroy myelin wrappings.
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Myelin sheath
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