Ranvier node


Ran·vi·er node

(rahn-vē-ā' nōd) A short interval in the myelin sheath of a nerve fiber, occurring between segments of the myelin sheath; at the node, the axon is invested only by short, fingerlike cytoplasmic processes of the two neighboring Schwann cells or, in the centralnervous system, oligodendroglia cells.
See also: myelin sheath
Synonym(s): node of Ranvier.

Ranvier node

(ron-ve-a') [Louis A. Ranvier, Fr. pathologist, 1835–1922] A space between adjacent Schwann cells along a nerve fiber; no myelin sheath is present. Synonym: neurofibril node See: nerve fiber; neuron for illus.; Schwann cell