Neuron

Pronunciation

• GenAm IPA: /ˈnʊɹɑn/, /ˈnɝɑn/
• RP IPA: /ˈnjʊəɹɒn/

Alternative forms

• neurone

Origin

From New Latin, from Ancient Greek νεῦρον (neuron, "nerve").

Full definition of neuron

Noun

1. (cytology) A cell of the nervous system, which conducts nerve impulses; consisting of an axon and several dendrites. Neurons are connected by synapses.
• 2013-08-03, The machine of a new soul, The yawning gap in neuroscientists’ understanding of their topic is in the intermediate scale of the brain’s anatomy. Science has a passable knowledge of how individual nerve cells, known as neurons, work. It also knows which visible lobes and ganglia of the brain do what. But how the neurons are organised in these lobes and ganglia remains obscure.

Synonyms

• neurocyte
• nerve cell

Derived terms

• neural
• neuralgia
• neuritis
• neurology
• neuronal
• neuronic
• neuronally
• neuroscience
• neurosis