Axolemmas

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. The membrane that surrounds the elongated projection of a nerve cell ; the protective outer layer of a neuron's transmitting fiber ; the sheath enveloping the slender extension of a neuron
2. The specialized boundary covering a neural outgrowth ; the encapsulating interface for a nerve cell's long process ; the limiting layer on the transmission branch of a neuron
3. The surface membrane encasing a neuron’s lengthy extension ; the enclosing skin of the projection that carries nerve impulses ; the outermost structure on a nerve cell's branched filament

Etymology: Axolemmas is simply the plural of "axolemma," so the word is best understood through its parts. The second half, "lemma," comes from Greek "lemma," meaning a husk or rind, and in biology it names a thin outer covering. The first half, "axo-," comes from Greek "axōn," meaning axis, and in neuroscience it refers to the axon, the long slender projection that carries signals away from a nerve cell's body. Put together, the term names the membrane wrapped around that projection. The word therefore describes a covering defined by its location: the sheath that surrounds the axon. Its meaning is tied directly to the structure it encloses, so the name works as a precise anatomical description rather than a figurative one.

Synonyms: axolemma, nerve sheath