dendrite
Americannoun
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Petrology, Mineralogy.
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a branching figure or marking, resembling moss or a shrub or tree in form, found on or in certain stones or minerals due to the presence of a foreign material.
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any arborescent crystalline growth.
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Anatomy. the branching process of a neuron that conducts impulses toward the cell.
noun
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Also called: dendron. any of the short branched threadlike extensions of a nerve cell, which conduct impulses towards the cell body
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a branching mosslike crystalline structure in some rocks and minerals
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a crystal that has branched during growth and has a treelike form
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Any of several parts branching from the body of a neuron that receive and transmit nerve impulses.
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A mineral that has a branching crystal pattern. Dendrites often form within or on the surface of other minerals and often consist of manganese oxides.
Other Word Forms
- dendritic adjective
- dendritically adverb
Etymology
Origin of dendrite
1720–30; < Greek dendrī́tēs pertaining to a tree, equivalent to dendr- dendr- + -ītēs -ite 1
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Grey matter consists of neuronal cell bodies and their dendrites - short protrusions that communicate with neurons nearby.
From BBC
One specific section of the dendrite contained an unusually dense concentration of dendritic spines, forming what the researchers call a "hotspot."
From Science Daily
Cause and effect run across many scales at once, from ion channels to dendrites to circuits to whole-brain dynamics, and these levels do not behave like independent modules stacked in layers.
From Science Daily
With the help of powerful microscopes and live-cell imaging, the team watched as neurons created long, slender extensions between their dendrites -- the branching projections that connect brain cells.
From Science Daily
Importantly, it was able to reveal the features where many synapses dwell: the spines that protrude along the vine-like processes, or dendrites, that grow out of the neuron cell body.
From Science Daily
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
