Term: hindbrain astrocyte
Note: This page represents a term created by the combination ("post-composition") of two ontology terms. For more information on the individual terms, click the hyperlinked name.
Name: hindbrain
Synonyms: rhombencephalon
Definition: The most posterior of the three principal regions of the brain. In mammals and birds the hindbrain is divided into a rostral metencephalon and a caudal myelencephalon. In zebrafish, with the exception of the cerebellum, the ventral remainder of the metencephalon can be separated only arbitrarily from the more caudal myelencephalic portion of the medulla oblongata and thus these are not distinguished here. From Neuroanatomy of the Zebrafish Brain.
Ontology: Anatomy Ontology [ZFA:0000029]
Name: astrocyte
Synonyms: astrocytes
Definition: A class of large neuroglial (macroglial) cells in the central nervous system - the largest and most numerous neuroglial cells in the brain and spinal cord. Astrocytes (from 'star' cells) are irregularly shaped with many long processes, including those with 'end feet' which form the glial (limiting) membrane and directly and indirectly contribute to the blood-brain barrier. They regulate the extracellular ionic and chemical environment, and 'reactive astrocytes' (along with microglia) respond to injury.
Ontology: Anatomy Ontology [ZFA:0009075]