Definition of Synapse

Synapse: The point of connection usually between two nerve cells. Specifically, a synapse is a specialized junction at which a nerve cell (a neuron) communicates with a target cell. The neuron releases a chemical transmitter (a neurotransmitter) that diffuses across a small gap and activates specific specialized sites called receptors situated on the target cell. The target cell may be another neuron, or a specialized region of a muscle cell or a secretory cell (a cell than can make and secrete a substance). Neurons can also communicate through direct electrical connections (electrical synapses).

Etymology: The term "synapse" was coined in 1897 by the English physiologist Charles Sherrington, with some help from classical scholars of his acquaintance. They fashioned the word from the Greek word "synaptein" meaning to fasten together. "Synaptein" is combined from the Greek "syn-", together and "haptein" meaning to fasten or bind. (From "haptein" comes the immunologic term "hapten.")

History: Sir Charles Scott Sherrington (1857-1952) was a highly influential figure in the development not only of neurophysiology (the intersection between neurology and physiology) but also that of clinical neurology and neurosurgery ("brain surgery"). He worked at Oxford University and is well remembered for the research he did into how nerves work and how they work together. Aside from the synapse, he also coined other useful terms including "neuron" for the nerve cell itself. Sherrington shared the Nobel Prize in Medicine or Physiology in 1932 with Lord Edgar Douglas Adrian of Cambridge University for "their discoveries regarding the functions of neurons."