Meaning & use
myelin
Last updated
UK/ˈmaɪəlɪn/
US/ˈmaɪəlɪn/
Meaning
noununcountablebiology
A fatty substance wrapped around many nerve fibers that insulates them and helps electrical signals travel quickly.
Grammar: Uncountable: myelin protects nerves, not a myelin.
Patterns
- myelin around a nerve fiber
- damage to myelin
Myelin helps nerve signals race along the spinal cord.
In multiple sclerosis, the immune system attacks myelin.
Children's brains keep adding myelin as they grow.
Common combinations
- myelin sheath
- The myelin sheath surrounds each long nerve fiber.
- loss of myelin
- Loss of myelin slows the signals between nerves.
- damaged myelin
- Damaged myelin can cause numbness and weakness.
- produce myelin
- Special cells in the brain produce myelin.
Synonyms and how they differ
- nerve insulation
- Nerve insulation is an informal description of what myelin does, but myelin is the exact scientific name for the substance.
- sheath
- Sheath is the covering layer itself, whereas myelin is the material that forms it.
Word family
- myelinated adjective
- covered with myelin
- myelination noun
- the forming of myelin around nerves
- demyelination noun
- the loss of myelin
- unmyelinated adjective
- without a myelin covering
Commonly confused: myelin or melanin?
myelin vs melanin
Melanin is the pigment that colors skin and hair, while myelin is the fatty coating on nerves.
Practice
What is the main job of myelin?
Choose one answer.
Myelin wraps nerve fibers and speeds up signals. Coloring skin is the job of melanin, the tempting similar-sounding word.
Make it your own
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