af·fer·ent

(ăf′ər-ənt)

adj.

Carrying inward to a central organ or section, as nerves that conduct impulses from the periphery of the body to the brain or spinal cord.

[Latin afferēns, afferent-, present participle of afferre, to bring toward : ad-, ad- + ferre, to bring; see bher- in Indo-European roots.]

af′fer·ent·ly adv.

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

afferent

(ˈæfərənt)

adj

(Physiology) bringing or directing inwards to a part or an organ of the body, esp towards the brain or spinal cord. Compare efferent

[C19: from Latin afferre to carry to, from ad- to + ferre to carry]

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

af•fer•ent

(ˈæf ər ənt)
adj.

1. bringing to or leading toward an organ or part, as a nerve or arteriole (opposed to efferent).

2. a nerve that conveys an impulse toward the central nervous system.

[1830–40; < Latin afferent-, s. of afferēns, present participle of afferre to bring, deliver =af- af- + ferre to bear¹]

af′fer•ent•ly, adv.

af·fer·ent

(ăf′ər-ənt)

Relating to a nerve that carries sensory information toward the central nervous system. Compare efferent.

The American Heritage® Student Science Dictionary, Second Edition. Copyright © 2014 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

afferent

Directing to a part of the body. The afferent nerves of the peripheral nervous system send impulses to the central nervous system.

ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:

Noun	1.	afferent - a nerve that passes impulses from receptors toward or to the central nervous system afferent nerve, sensory nerve dorsal horn, dorsal root - one of the two roots of a spinal nerve that passes dorsally to the spinal cord and that consists of sensory fibers afferent neuron, sensory neuron - a neuron conducting impulses inwards to the brain or spinal cord nerve, nervus - any bundle of nerve fibers running to various organs and tissues of the body afferent fiber, sensory fiber - a nerve fiber that carries impulses toward the central nervous system lemniscus, fillet - a bundle of sensory nerve fibers going to the thalamus
Adj.	1.	afferent - of nerves and nerve impulses; conveying sensory information from the sense organs to the CNS; "afferent nerves"; "afferent impulses" physiology - the branch of the biological sciences dealing with the functioning of organisms efferent, motorial - of nerves and nerve impulses; conveying information away from the CNS; "efferent nerves and impulses"

afferent

adjective

Transmitting impulses from sense organs to nerve centers:

sensory.

Translations

afferente

af·fer·ent

a. aferente, que se dirige hacia el centro o hacia adentro;

___ fibers → fibras ___-s;

___ glomerular arteriole → arteriola glomerular ___;

___ lymphatic vessel → vaso linfático ___;

___ nerve → nervio ___;

___ vessel → vaso ___.

English-Spanish Medical Dictionary © Farlex 2012

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References in periodicals archive

Furthermore, the afferent fibres assessed by the H reflex obviously do not participate in nociception, which is the first modality to recover after lidocaine block [7].

Time course of the soleus M response and H reflex after lidocaine tibial nerve block in the rat

In the first experiment, they recorded afferent responses to a variety of frequencies in rhesus macaques, whose tactile nervous system closely resembles humans.

Sense of touch 'uses vibrations just like hearing'

While the motor output associated with human walking is thought to be largely generated by spinal centers, both supraspinal and afferent input contribute considerably to the locomotor output.3 Considerable evidence derived from both animal and human experiments suggests that specific afferent input to the spinal cord such as hip proprioceptors, Group-I muscle afferents and plantar cutaneous afferents play a significant role in modulating reflex transmission during walking and standing.

The Inhibition of short latency reflex linking the pretibial muscles to quadriceps motoneurones during stance to swing transition in humans

Wrapped around the muscle spindle is the large sensory Ia afferent axon that travels to the spinal cord.

Spinal reflex adaptation in dancers: changes with body orientation and role of pre-synaptic inhibition

With respect to direction of transmission, nerve systems can be classified as afferent (toward the spinal cord and/or brain) or efferent (away from the spinal cord and/or brain).

Chapter 6: Functional anatomy of reproductive systems: neuroendocrine systems

Pons-medullar trigeminal afferent tracts and connectivity, supra-spinal pathways for processing somatic-visceral pain, possible somatic-vegetative responses and the integration of the trigeminal system in the physiology of pain concerning the vagus nerve are all discussed.

Thoracic vagal ganglion and referred craniofacial pain: a case report and review/Ganglio Toracico Vagal y Dolor Craneofacial Referido: Reporte de Caso y Revision

Here North American, European, and Australian contributors from a number of disciplines synthesize the current understanding of vagal afferent biology in a manner designed to be accessible to specialists in any of the disciplines that deal with it.

Advances in Vagal Afferent Neurobiology

Somatic afferent neurons firing in the spinal cord can inhibit viscerosomatic neurons in the dorsal horn from responding to stimuli.

Low back pain linked to bowel motility disorders

As the movement is being executed, afferent (i.e., from muscle to brain) information from the muscles' pro-prioceptors is being transmitted via the neural pathways back to the CNS.

Q & A on quickness & agility

Consequently, we previously proposed a mechanism of increased sensitivity of the afferent nerves in patients with airway symptoms induced by scents and chemicals and suggested using the term "sensory hyperreactivity" (SHR; Millqvist et al.

Changes in levels of nerve growth factor in nasal secretions after capsaicin inhalation in patients with airway symptoms from scents and chemicals

The myogenic mechanism is based on the function of baroreceptors (stretch receptors) in the afferent arterioles.

Renal hemodynamics: an overview