Tissue
white matter Audio
white mat·ter
Subclass of:
Spinal Cord; Brain
Definitions related to white matter:
  • The inner portion of the brain, composed primarily of axons, each surrounded by a myelin sheath that insulates the nerve fibers (and appears white). Messages are sent between different regions of the brain (gray matter) via these nerve fibers.
    Harvard Dictionary of Health Terms
    Harvard Medical Publishing, 2011
  • The nerve tissue forming the bulk of the deep parts of the brain and the superficial parts of the spinal cord. It is composed of nerve cell processes, i.e. extensions (axons), which connect various grey matter areas of the brain to each other and carry nerve impulses to and from the nerve cell bodies within the central nervous system (neurons). Cerebral and spinal white matter does not contain dendrites. White matter is distinguished in that it is composed of axonal nerve fibers covered by a myelin sheath.
    NCI Thesaurus
    U.S. National Cancer Institute, 2021
  • The region of CENTRAL NERVOUS SYSTEM that appears lighter in color than the other type, GRAY MATTER. It mainly consists of MYELINATED NERVE FIBERS and contains few neuronal cell bodies or DENDRITES.
    NLM Medical Subject Headings
    U.S. National Library of Medicine, 2021
  • White nervous tissue constituting the conducting portion of the brain and spinal cord.
    CRISP Thesaurus
    National Institutes of Health, 2006
  • (white matter of neuraxis) Cell part cluster consisting predominantly of neurites in the brain and the spinal cord.
    Foundational Model of Anatomy
    University of Washington, 2017
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