aferente

Aferente is a term used in physiology and anatomy to describe a pathway or structure that carries signals toward a reference point, most commonly toward the central nervous system or toward an organ. In this sense, afferent pathways convey sensory information from receptors or peripheral tissues to the brain or spinal cord, enabling perception, sensation, and reflex responses. The term is related to the English word afferent and is used in many Romance-language anatomical vocabularies to denote the same concept of incoming or toward-ward signaling.

In the nervous system, afferent elements include sensory neurons and fibers that transmit information such as touch, temperature, pain, position, and visceral sensations. Afferent pathways are typically contrasted with efferent pathways, which carry commands from the central nervous system to muscles or glands to effect a response. In reflex circuits, the afferent limb brings information into the spinal cord or brain, where it can trigger an appropriate reflex or be integrated into perception.

Afferent also appears in non-neural contexts. For example, afferent lymphatic vessels carry lymph toward lymph nodes, where immune processing occurs, and the renal afferent arteriole delivers blood to the glomerulus in the kidney, with the corresponding efferent arteriole carrying filtered blood away. Etymologically, the term derives from Latin adferre, meaning “to bring toward,” combining ad- (“toward”) and ferre (“to carry”).