Afferents

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A type of nerve fibers or pathways that transmit sensory information from peripheral receptors to the central nervous system
2. Referring to structures that carry signals towards a central part, particularly in physiological contexts
3. Describing the communication mediums in biological systems that relay sensory data to the brain or spinal cord for processing

Etymology: "Afferents" is simply the plural of "afferent," a noun for the nerve fibres that carry sensory signals inward toward the brain or spinal cord. Its history lies in a Latin verb meaning "to bring to": "afferre," built from "ad" ("to, toward") and "ferre" ("to carry, bear"). The prefix "ad" appears in many English words with the same sense of movement toward something, while "ferre" is the root behind words such as "transfer" and "fertile" through its many related forms. The English term took its present shape from the Latin present participle "afferens," meaning "bringing to." The sense of inward movement carried over naturally into physiology, where a nerve carrying impulses toward the centre of the body is the mirror image of one carrying them outward. The word therefore describes a bringing-in as much as its Latin ancestor did, applied to the body's internal wiring.

Synonyms: incoming signals, sensory neurons, afferent pathways, input nerves, sensory inputs

Antonyms: efferents, outgoing signals, motor neurons, output pathways, effector nerves