- terminal
- 1. Relating to the end; final. 2. Relating to the extremity or end of any body; e.g., the end of a biopolymer. 3. A termination, extremity, end, or ending. [L. terminus, a boundary, limit]- amino-t. amino- t..- axon terminals the somewhat enlarged, often club-shaped endings by which axons make synaptic contacts with other nerve cells or with effector cells (muscle or gland cells). As isolated, by homogenizing brain or spinal cord, they contain acetylcholine and the related enzymes. Axon terminals contain neurotransmitters of various kinds, sometimes more than one. These can be demonstrated by chemical analysis and immunocytochemical methods. SEE ALSO: synapse. SYN: axonal t. boutons, end- feet, neuropodia, pieds terminaux, synaptic boutons, synaptic endings, synaptic terminals, t. boutons, bouton terminaux.- carboxy t. C terminus.
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ter·mi·nal 'tərm-nəl, -ən-əl adj1) of, relating to, or being at an end, extremity, boundary, or terminus <the \terminal phalanx of a finger>2 a) leading ultimately to death: FATAL <\terminal cancer>b) approaching or close to death: being in the final stages of a fatal disease <a \terminal patient>c) of or relating to patients with a terminal illness <\terminal care>3) being at or near the end of a chain of atoms making up a molecule <the \terminal carbon>ter·mi·nal·ly -ē advterminal n a part that forms an end esp NERVE ENDING <synthesis of a neurotransmitter in the presynaptic \terminal of a neuron (R. J. Wurtman)>* * *
ter·mi·nal (turґmĭ-nəl) [L. terminalis] 1. forming or pertaining to an end; placed at the end. 2. a termination, end, or extremity; see ending.
Medical dictionary. 2011.
