Node of Ranvier
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Drawing of a peripheral nerve axon (labeled "axis cylinder"), showing a node of Ranvier along with other features
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Nodes of Ranvier
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| Latin | incisura myelini |
| Code | TH H2.00.06.2.03015 |
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Anatomical terminology
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| Node of Ranvier |
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Nodes of Ranvier, also known as myelin sheath gaps, are periodic gaps in the insulating myelin sheaths of myelinated axons where the axonal membrane is exposed to the extracellular space. Nodes of Ranvier are uninsulated and highly enriched in ion channels, allowing them to participate in the exchange of ions required to regenerate the action potential. Nerve conduction in myelinated axons is referred to as saltatory conduction (from the Latin saltare, to hop or leap) because of the manner in which the action potential seems to "jump" from one node to the next along the length of the axon. This results in faster conduction of the action potential.
Many vertebrate axons are surrounded by a myelin sheath, allowing rapid and efficient saltatory ("jumping") propagation of action potentials. The contacts between neurons and glial cells display a very high level of spatial and temporal organization in myelinated fibers. The myelinating glial cells; oligodendrocytes in the central nervous system (CNS), and Schwann cells in the peripheral nervous system (PNS), are wrapped around the axon, leaving the axolemma relatively uncovered at regularly spaced nodes of Ranvier.
The internodal glial membranes are fused to form compact myelin, whereas the cytoplasm-filled paranodal loops of myelinating cells are spirally wrapped around the axon at both sides of the nodes. This organization demands a tight developmental control and the formation of a variety of specialized zones of contact between different areas of the myelinating cell membrane. Each node of Ranvier is flanked by paranodal regions where helicoidally wrapped glial loops are attached to the axonal membrane by a septate-like junction.
The segment between nodes of Ranvier is termed as the internode, and its outermost part that is in contact with paranodes is referred to as the juxtaparanodal region. The nodes are encapsulated by microvilli stemming from the outer aspect of the Schwann cell membrane in the PNS, or by perinodal extensions from astrocytes in the CNS.
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