glia
glia — noun
- gliasingular
- gliasplural
1. a type of cell found in the brain and spinal cord whose main job is to surround,
a type of cell found in the brain and spinal cord whose main job is to surround, insulate, and protect neurons, keeping the nerve tissue healthy.
The neurologist examined how glia interact with neurons in the patient's brain scan.
collocation: glia interact with neurons
One type of glia, called astrocytes, helps repair damaged nerve tissue after an injury.
pattern: One type of glia, called [specific type]
The research team discovered that glia in the spinal cord respond quickly to inflammation.
A single glia in the brain can connect to thousands of nearby neurons.
The pathologist stained the tissue sample to make the glia visible under the microscope.
- glial cell
more specific and countable; 'glial cell' always refers to an individual cell, whereas 'glia' can be ambiguous between cell and tissue
- neuroglial cell
fuller technical term, less common in everyday medical speech
- neuron
glia support neurons but are a different cell type; they do not transmit electrical signals
文法句型
a glia
the glia
glia (plural)
用法筆記
Countable noun. Frequently used in the plural form when referring to multiple individual cells. Distinguish from sense 2, where the same word refers to the collective supportive tissue as a mass noun.
常見錯誤
2. the mesh of supportive material found inside the brain and spinal cord that wrap
the mesh of supportive material found inside the brain and spinal cord that wraps around neurons, supplies them with nutrients, and keeps the nerve tissue healthy and working.
The medical student learned that glia makes up about half the volume of the brain.
mass-noun pattern: glia makes up [fraction] of [body part]
Damage to the glia around a nerve cell can slow down the transmission of signals.
The neurologist examined the MRI scan for inflamed glia around the injury.
The MRI scan revealed that the patient's glia had thickened around the old injury site.
Researchers are studying how glia responds to traumatic brain injuries in animal models.
- neuroglia
the full formal name; 'neuroglia' and 'glia' are interchangeable, but 'neuroglia' is more common in textbooks
- glial tissue
less common but clearer for learners — explicitly marks it as tissue rather than cells
- gray matter
gray matter is mostly neuron cell bodies; glia is the supportive matrix around them
文法句型
the glia
glia [singular verb]
用法筆記
Uncountable (mass) noun; takes a singular verb. Distinguish from sense 1, where the same word refers to the individual cells that make up the tissue. When the meaning is tissue-level, the definite article ('the glia') is common.