den·drite 
(dĕndrīt′)
(dĕndrīt′)n.
1.
a. A mineral crystallizing in another mineral in the form of a branching or treelike mark.
b. A rock or mineral bearing such a mark or marks.
2. A branched protoplasmic extension of a nerve cell that conducts impulses from adjacent cells inward toward the cell body. A single nerve may possess many dendrites. Also called dendron.