 | This article needs additional citations for verification. (April 2012) |
| Neuropil | |
|---|---|
| Details | |
| System | Nervous system |
| Identifiers | |
| Latin | neuropilus |
| MeSH | D019581 |
| TH | H2.00.06.2.02005 |
| Anatomical terms of microanatomy | |
Neuropil (or "neuropile") is any area in the nervous system composed of mostly unmyelinated axons, dendrites and glial cell processes that forms a synaptically dense region containing a relatively low number of cell bodies. The most prevalent anatomical region of neuropil is the brain which, although not completely composed of neuropil, does have the largest and highest synaptically concentrated areas of neuropil in the body. For example, the neocortex and olfactory bulb both contain neuropil.[1]
White matter, which is mostly composed of myelinated axons (hence its white color) and glial cells, is generally not considered to be a part of the neuropil.[citation needed]
Neuropil (pl. neuropils) comes from the Greek: neuro, meaning "tendon, sinew; nerve" and pilos, meaning "felt".[2] The term's origin can be traced back to the late 19th century.[3]
- ^ Dale Purves; George J. Augustine; David Fitzpatrick; William C. Hall; Anthony-Samuel LaMantia; Leonard E. White, eds. (2012). "1". Neuroscience (Fifth ed.). Sunderland, Massachusetts: Sinauer Associates, Inc. ISBN 978-0-87893-695-3.[page needed]
- ^ Freeman, Walter J. How Brains Make up their Minds , 2000, p. 47
- ^ Pearsall, Judy. "Neuropil". Oxford Dictionaries Online. Oxford University Press. Archived from the original on June 11, 2011. Retrieved 20 April 2012.