Category: Na-Ne

A connection or link. A causal connection. A connected series. “Nexus” comes from the Latin “nectere” meaning “to bind.” The same Latin root gave rise to “connect” and “annex.”

A type of white blood cell, a granulocyte that is filled with microscopic granules, little sacs containing enzymes that digest microorganisms. Also known as polymorphonuclear leukocyte or poly.

Not enough neutrophils, neutrophils being a type of white blood cell (specifically a form of granulocyte) filled with neutrally-staining granules, tiny sacs of enzymes that help the cell to kill and digest microorganisms it has engulfed by phagocytosis. The mature neutrophil has a segmented nucleus (it is called a seg or poly) while the immature neutrophil has band-shape nucleus (it…

A chemical that is released from a nerve cell which thereby transmits an impulse from a nerve cell to another nerve, muscle, organ, or other tissue. A neurotransmitter is a messenger of neurologic information from one cell to another.

A chronic disorder featuring irritability of the nervous system (nervousness) and characterized by anxiety and/or extreme behavior dedicated to avoid anxiety situations.

The brain’s ability to reorganize itself by forming new neural connections throughout life. Neuroplasticity allows the neurons (nerve cells) in the brain to compensate for injury and disease and to adjust their activities in response to new situations or to changes in their environment. Brain reorganization takes place by mechanisms such as “axonal sprouting” in which undamaged axons…

Any disease or malfunction of the nerves.

Chronic pain resulting from injury to the nervous system. The injury can be to the central nervous system (brain and spinal cord) or the peripheral nervous system (nerves outside the brain and spinal cord). Neuropathic pain can occur after trauma and many diseases such as multiple sclerosis and stroke. It is common and affects more than 2 million people in the US alone. This type of pain is…

Neuron-specific enolase (NSE) is a substance that has been detected in patients with certain tumors, namely: neuroblastoma, small cell lung cancer, medullary thyroid cancer, carcinoid tumors, pancreatic endocrine tumors, and melanoma. Studies of NSE as a tumor marker have concentrated primarily on patients with neuroblastoma and small cell lung cancer. Measurement of NSE levels in patients with these two…

Pertaining to both nerves and muscles, as in neuromuscular blockade by an anesthetic agent, the neuromuscular junction (the meeting place of a nerve and a muscle fiber), and neuromuscular transmission (the transfer of “information” from the nerve to the muscle).