from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition
- n. Any of the small neuroglial cells of the central nervous system having long processes and amoeboid and phagocytic activity at sites of neural damage or inflammation.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
- n. The glial cells of the immune system; they can function as phagocytes
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- n. neuroglial tissue of mesodermal origin that can become phagocytic
Sorry, no etymologies found.
"This is one of the best explanations I've heard," commented distinguished neuroscientist Floyd Bloom, after a presentation by Dr. Linda Watkins of the University of Colorado speaking about her latest research showing that glial cells, called microglia, are the unsuspected agents in chronic pain and drug addiction.
His team discovered that in inducing inflammation they were activating cells in the brain known as microglia, whose job it is to ingest unwanted material.
Inflammation and the toxic byproducts of the inflammation of a certain group of brain cells called the microglia are associated with aging, reduced cognition and neuron degeneration.
Developing brain tumors can coax assistance from nearby cells known as microglia, according to a new ...
They also studied structures called microglia, which activate the brain's immune response.
Memory restoration was accompanied by boosted numbers of scavenging immune cells known as microglia in the brain.
Brain cells called microglia are responsible for the clean-up and recycling of toxic proteins, a process called autophagy.
A sentinel cell type, called microglia, is always on the lookout for trouble.
The brain dendritic cells also proved far more effective at stimulating T cell proliferation in the same test than similar immune-related cells called microglia, which reside in the brain in huge numbers.
The causes of most common forms of Parkinson's remain poorly understood, but the disease is generally associated with an inflammatory component involving cells known as microglia, the researchers explained.