DENDRITE. The fibrous process of a nerve-cell or neuron which conducts impulses toward the cell body. The dendrites of a given neuron differ in several ways from the axon, which is the fibrous process conducting away from the cell body. There may be several dendrites, whereas ordinarily there is but a single axon fibre; and the dendrites are usually arranged in branching form (hence the derivation of the term from the Greek word, bEVBpov, meaning "tree").
See also NERVOUS SYSTE1Vt ; C. J. Herrick, Neurological Foundations of Animal Behavior.