myeliinivä
Myeliinivä, derived from the Finnish word for myelin, refers to the fatty, insulating sheath that surrounds nerve fibers in the central and peripheral nervous systems. This protective layer, composed primarily of lipids and proteins, plays a crucial role in the efficient transmission of electrical signals along neurons. Myeliinivä allows nerve impulses to travel much faster than they would in unmyelinated axons through a process called saltatory conduction, where the impulse "jumps" between gaps in the myelin sheath known as nodes of Ranvier.
The formation of myeliinivä is carried out by specialized glial cells. In the central nervous system, oligodendrocytes
Damage to myeliinivä, known as demyelination, can significantly impair nerve signal transmission, leading to a range