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neuropod

neuropod

9.9
A small limb on some animals without bones that they use to move
  • noun
  • /ˈnjʊərəˌpɒd/
  • Specialized
: neuropodo
  • In certain jellyfish, the neuropod functions as a sensory appendage that helps detect changes in the environment.

Examples

  • The octopus uses its neuropod to manipulate objects and sense textures in its surroundings.

  • Researchers discovered that the neuropod plays an important role in the locomotion of certain marine invertebrates.

  • So these cells that we call neuropod cells have three jobs.

  • And what the Bhorkas lab has shown is that these neuropod cells are part of this network.

Surface Forms

neuropod singular
neuropods plural

Morphology

neuropod = pod (semi-transparent) = neuro + pod

The word is built from a recognizable technical prefix plus a noun base, but the zoological sense is specialized rather than a straightforward everyday combination.

Etymology

Neuropod comes from neuro- 'nerve' and -pod 'foot', the same root you see in octopus. So it literally means a 'nerve foot', which fits a limb that is part of the nervous system and helps the animal move.