The Nervous System Word Search
A free The Nervous System word search you can play straight in the browser. The 12-word list draws on the terms and ideas of a school subject, hidden across a 15×15 grid in every direction. Drag through the letters to mark a word off.
Words to find: NEURON, AXON, DENDRITE, SYNAPSE, MYELIN, CEREBRUM, CEREBELLUM, BRAINSTEM, SPINAL, REFLEX, SENSORY, MOTOR.
Words run in any of eight directions, backwards included — if one refuses to turn up, try reading the grid right to left.
The Nervous System word list, defined
- NEURON /ˈnjʊərɒn/ (British); /ˈnʊrɑːn/ (US) · noun
- A neuron is a specialized cell that transmits information through electrical and chemical signals within the nervous system. Neurons receive signals from other neurons or from sensory receptors and pass them to other neurons, muscles, or glands. Related: nerve cell, neurone.
- AXON /ˈak.sɒn/ · noun
- The long, slender fiber of a neuron that conducts electrical impulses away from the nerve cell body toward other neurons, muscles, or glands. Related: nerve fiber, neurite.
- DENDRITE /ˈdɛn.draɪt/ · noun
- A short branching extension of a nerve cell (neuron) that receives electrical signals from other cells; also, a branching, tree-like crystalline structure or mineral formation. Related: branch, arborization, process.
- SYNAPSE /ˈsaɪ.næps/ · noun
- A synapse is the specialized junction between two neurons, or between a neuron and an effector cell, across which signals are transmitted. The term can also refer more broadly to a site of communication or connection. Related: neural junction, neuronal contact point, connection, junction.
- MYELIN /ˈmaɪəlɪn/ · noun
- A fatty insulating substance that forms a sheath around many nerve fibres, helping electrical impulses travel rapidly along the nervous system. Related: myelin sheath, nerve insulation, medullary sheath.
- CEREBRUM /ˈsɛrɪbrəm/ · noun
- The cerebrum is the largest and most highly developed part of the brain, consisting of two hemispheres and responsible for higher functions such as thought, reasoning, memory, and voluntary movement. Related: brain, cerebral cortex, grey matter, encephalon.
- CEREBELLUM /ˌsɛrəˈbɛləm/ · noun
- The large, ridged structure at the back of the brain, below the cerebrum, responsible for coordinating voluntary movement, balance, and posture. Related: little brain.
- BRAINSTEM /ˈbreɪnstɛm/ · noun
- The stalk-like portion of the brain that connects the cerebrum and cerebellum to the spinal cord, comprising the midbrain, pons, and medulla oblongata. It controls many automatic functions essential to life, including breathing, heart rate, and reflexes. Related: brain stem.
- SPINAL /ˈspaɪnəl/ · adjective
- Relating to the spine or vertebral column. In medicine, the term is also used to describe the spinal cord and conditions affecting it. Related: vertebral, axial, backbone, spinal-column.
- REFLEX /ˈriːfleks/ · noun, verb, adjective
- An involuntary, automatic response to a stimulus, especially a bodily response or an immediate instinctive reaction. The word can also relate to something turned or sent backward, and as a verb means to bend, turn, or draw sharply backward. Related: response, reaction, automatic response, involuntary reaction.
- SENSORY /ˈsɛnsəri/ · adjective
- Relating to the senses or to the process of receiving sensory information. In medicine and psychology, it describes the organs, pathways, or experiences involved in hearing, sight, touch, taste, smell, and related bodily perceptions. Related: perceptual, sensorial, aural, visual.
- MOTOR /ˈmoʊtər/ · noun
- A machine or engine that converts electrical, chemical, or other energy into mechanical motion. By extension, “motor” can informally mean a motor vehicle. Related: engine, machine, actuator.
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