Skip to main content
Glite Dictionary
myelinization

myelinization

9.9
The forming of a fatty layer around nerve fibers that helps signals travel faster
  • noun
  • /ˌmaɪəˈlɪnəˌzeɪʃən/
  • Specialized
: mielinización
  • Myelination occurs during childhood, allowing myelinization of nerve fibers to transmit signals more quickly.

Examples

  • During the healing process, myelinization can help restore the speed of nerve impulses.

  • The study focused on the myelinization of neuronal fibers in developing brains.

  • We our brains grow for a long time after we are born, and our myelinization pattern in our brain is delayed.

Synonyms

myelination
vsmyelinization
  • Specialized
1 8.6

Covering nerve fibers with a fatty layer so signals travel faster

is the same concept but named with an alternative suffix form

Surface Forms

myelinization singular
myelinizations plural

Morphology

myelinization = myelinize (semi-transparent) = myelin + ize + ation

The word is regularly built from myelinize plus the noun-forming suffix -ation, but the specialized neuroscience meaning is not obvious to a general learner.

Etymology

The word myelinization comes from myelin, a word from Greek that means 'marrow' or 'spinal cord', because this fatty material wraps nerves like insulation around a wire. The ending -ization means 'the process of', so myelinization is the process of forming that insulating coat that helps nerve signals travel faster.