oligodendrocyte Histology.
(ɒlɪgəʊˈdɛndrəʊsaɪt)
[f. oligodendroglia + -cyte.]
A kind of neuroglial cell similar to an astrocyte (but with fewer processes), found characteristically round nerve cells in the central nervous system and concerned with the maintenance of myelin.
| 1932 [see oligodendroglia]. 1966 Wright & Symmers Systemic Path. II. xxxiv. 1243/2 The oligodendrocyte greatly outnumbers all other cells in the brain. 1974 J. A. G. Rhodin Histol. xv. 316/1 The primary function of the oligodendrocytes is the formation of the myelin sheath. |