synapse
(sĭn′ăps)
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[Gr. synapsis, point of contact]
The space between the junction of two neurons in a neural pathway, where the termination of the axon of one neuron comes into close proximity with the cell body or dendrites of another. The electrical impulse traveling along a presynaptic neuron to the end of its axon releases a chemical neurotransmitter that stimulates or inhibits an electrical impulse in the postsynaptic neuron; synaptic transmission is in one direction only. Synapses are susceptible to fatigue, offer a resistance to the passage of impulses, and are markedly susceptible to the effects of oxygen deficiency, anesthetics, and other agents, including therapeutic drugs and toxic chemicals.
SYN: SEE: synapsis (1)
SYNAPSE Axon terminal synapse
SYNAPSE Transmission at an excitatory synapse (arrow indicates direction of impulse)
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Citation
Venes, Donald, editor. "Synapse." Taber's Medical Dictionary, 24th ed., F.A. Davis Company, 2021. Nursing Central, nursing.unboundmedicine.com/nursingcentral/view/Tabers-Dictionary/740939/0/synapse.
Synapse. In: Venes DD, ed. Taber's Medical Dictionary. F.A. Davis Company; 2021. https://nursing.unboundmedicine.com/nursingcentral/view/Tabers-Dictionary/740939/0/synapse. Accessed December 2, 2024.
Synapse. (2021). In Venes, D. (Ed.), Taber's Medical Dictionary (24th ed.). F.A. Davis Company. https://nursing.unboundmedicine.com/nursingcentral/view/Tabers-Dictionary/740939/0/synapse
Synapse [Internet]. In: Venes DD, editors. Taber's Medical Dictionary. F.A. Davis Company; 2021. [cited 2024 December 02]. Available from: https://nursing.unboundmedicine.com/nursingcentral/view/Tabers-Dictionary/740939/0/synapse.
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