dendrite
/ˈdɛndrʌɪt
/noun
1 Physiology A short branched extension of a nerve cell, along which impulses received from other cells at synapses are transmitted to the cell body. Compare with axon.Axons send signals to other cells and dendrites receive them....
- Gray matter, made up of the bodies of nerve cells and their connecting dendrites, is where the brain's heavy lifting is done.
- The dendrites and axon terminals of individual neurons can be extensively branched; a single neuron can receive as many as 100,000 different inputs.
2A crystal or crystalline mass with a branching, tree-like structure.Not only were neurons structured with more dendrites, they also ‘fired’ electrical signals more rapidly and sustained their firing for longer periods of time, the study showed....
- Lithium metal may also be plated out as crystalline dendrites that ultimately penetrate the separator and cause an internal short-circuit of the cell.
- Spatial dendrites are three-dimensional crystals with intermediate terminal velocities.
2.1A natural tree-like or moss-like marking on a rock or mineral.One is reminded of the famous fernlike markings on the Solnhofen fossils known as dendrites....
- In the silver case, there is a particularly fine featherlike dendrite of native silver from the La Nevada mine, Chihuahua, Mexico.
- Alan Charig et al. found that when he backwardly printed a negative photograph of the counterslab dendrite patterns, they match perfectly with the corresponding dendrites of the main slab.
Origin
Early 18th century: from French, from Greek dendritēs 'tree-like', from dendron 'tree'.