blood-brain barrier

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blood-brain barrier

(blŭd′brān′)

A physiological mechanism that alters the permeability of brain capillaries, so that some substances, such as certain drugs, are prevented from entering brain tissue, while other substances are allowed to enter freely.

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.

blood′-brain′ bar`rier

a layer of tightly packed cells that make up the walls of brain capillaries and prevent many substances in the blood from diffusing into the brain.

[1940–45]

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Noun

blood-brain barrier - a mechanism that creates a barrier between brain tissues and circulating blood; serves to protect the central nervous system; "the brain was protected from the large molecules of the virus by the blood-brain barrier"

barrier - anything serving to maintain separation by obstructing vision or access

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References in periodicals archive ?

The direct action of scorpion venom on the central nervous system can explain partly these neurological disorders in particular in children with immature hematoencephalic barrier [1].

Evidence of Direct Toxicological Effects of Scorpion Venom on Central Nervous System in Tunisian Children

Hematoencephalic barrier can be damaged too, to result in cerebral cortex atrophy, extension of subarachnoid space and lateral ventricles as well as appearance of additional centers with the reduced density in white and gray substances.

Neurocognitive impairments at various stages of clinical opiate addiction

"Normally, T-cells cannot penetrate into the Central Nervous System", adds Rea, "because the hematoencephalic barrier prevents them from doing so.