gliosis

1 9.8

An increase in support cells in the brain or spinal cord after injury

noun
/ɡlaɪˈoʊsɪs/

Specialized

: gliosis

In mammals, damage to the central nervous system often results in "reactive gliosis," in which glial cells proliferate to form a protective scar.

Examples

Astrocyte gliosis was observed throughout the brain in 113LBoPrP-Tg037 mice, even at the early stage of the disease.

Academic text (2013)
After a brain injury, researchers noted significant gliosis as glial cells increased to repair the affected area.
Going forward, it will be important to determine how fish circumvent reactive gliosis and whether Müller glia represent a source of adult stem cells in mammalian eyes.

Blog text (6)
The patient experienced gliosis in the spinal cord following the traumatic accident, indicating a response to the injury.
In a study of nerve damage, scientists found that gliosis played a crucial role in forming a protective barrier around the injured cells.

Surface Forms

gliosis singular

glioses plural

Morphology

gliosis = glia (opaque) = glio + osis

This is a specialized medical formation ('glia' + '-osis'); without medical knowledge of 'glia' or the suffix '-osis' a typical B1 learner cannot derive the meaning.

Etymology

The word gliosis comes from the Greek root glia, which means 'glue', and the ending -osis, which means 'a condition'. So, gliosis describes an increase of the brain's 'glue' cells after injury.