Neuritic

Part of speech: adjective, noun

Definitions

1. Of or pertaining to a neurite, the slender projection of a nerve cell that transmits electrical signals
2. Involving or caused by inflammation or disease of nerve fibers and their processes
3. Characteristic of or associated with the structures and extensions of neurons that form neural pathways

Etymology: Ancient Greek "neuron" meant sinew or cord, and only later came to mean the nerves that carry signals through the body. Medical writers combined it with the suffix "-itis," which had been split off from "arthritis," the Greek word for inflammation of a joint, and came to mark inflammation of almost any part of the body. Joined to "-ic," the result describes whatever relates to inflamed or damaged nerves. The adjective is most familiar now from neuropathology. Researchers describe "neuritic plaques," clusters of degenerating nerve endings with protein deposits, as a hallmark of Alzheimer's disease. The term is a technical coinage built from Greek parts, so its sense stays tied to nerves and their diseases rather than to any older everyday meaning.