Meaning & use
Schwann
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Meanings
proper nounproperbiology
Theodor Schwann, a nineteenth-century German scientist who helped show that all animals are made of cells.
Grammar: Always written with a capital: Schwann proposed that animal tissue is made of cells.
Patterns
- Theodor Schwann
- Schwann's work
Schwann worked with Matthias Schleiden on early cell theory.
Schwann also discovered pepsin, an enzyme that helps digest protein.
Students learn about Schwann when they study the history of biology.
proper nounbefore a nounbiologymedical
The name used before cell or sheath for the cells that wrap around nerve fibers outside the brain and spinal cord.
Grammar: Used as a modifier, usually in the form Schwann cell.
Patterns
- Schwann cell
- Schwann cell sheath
A Schwann cell forms a fatty layer around a nerve fiber.
Damage to Schwann cells can slow nerve signals.
Researchers study how Schwann cells help injured nerves grow back.
Common combinations
- Schwann cell
- Each Schwann cell wraps part of one nerve fiber.
- Schwann cell tumor
- A Schwann cell tumor can press on a nerve.
- Theodor Schwann
- Theodor Schwann studied medicine in Berlin.
- Schwann and Schleiden
- Schwann and Schleiden are credited with early cell theory.
Word family
- Schwannoma noun
- a usually harmless tumor arising from Schwann cells
- neurilemma noun
- the thin outer sheath of a nerve fiber formed by Schwann cells
Commonly confused: Schwann or Schleiden?
Schwann vs Schleiden
Matthias Schleiden was the botanist who worked alongside Schwann on cell theory. Schwann focused on animals, Schleiden on plants.
Practice
Where are Schwann cells found?
Choose one answer.
Schwann cells wrap around peripheral nerve fibers and form the insulating sheath. The other places are not where they work.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “Schwann”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.