How to Use glial in a Sentence

glial

adjective
  • The glial cells have no smooth muscle cells.
    — Amanda Erickson, STAT, 7 Apr. 2026
  • In the human brain, glial cells are as abundant as neurons are.
    — Quanta Magazine, 27 Jan. 2020
  • The next split along the neural branch divides true neurons from glial cells.
    — Christof Koch, Scientific American, 6 Oct. 2021
  • Glial cells are coloured green and retinal ganglion cells are orange.
    — Randy Dotinga, WIRED, 5 Feb. 2007
  • Hub cells are only one of many glial subtypes that play functional roles in the gut.
    — Yasemin Saplakoglu, WIRED, 14 Jan. 2024
  • What would neurons be without the glial cells that surround and support them?
    — Jennifer Leman, Scientific American, 29 July 2019
  • This is a thin set of channels formed by the brain’s glial cells that can conduct fluid within the brain.
    — Quanta Magazine, 16 Dec. 2019
  • When glial cells were turned off via gene editing, the mice were less sensitive to pain such as pinpricks.
    — National Geographic, 9 Jan. 2020
  • In humans, glial scars form very quickly after injury.
    — Scott Travers, Forbes.com, 16 May 2026
  • According to many researchers, the glial cells that form the scar are toxic to growing nerves.
    — Isaac Chotiner, The New Yorker, 12 Aug. 2021
  • Having more glial cells has been linked to more adaptive cognition, the researchers said.
    — Daniela Hernandez, WSJ, 4 Dec. 2022
  • This image shows two important support cells (glial cells) of the human brain.
    — Doug Criss, CNN, 28 Mar. 2018
  • Just why Schwann and glial cells appear to be targets of cell phone radiation is not clear.
    — Charles Schmidt, Scientific American, 29 Mar. 2018
  • Glioma originates in glial cells that surround and support neurons in the brain, per the website.
    — Kimberlee Speakman, Peoplemag, 11 Nov. 2023
  • Glioma is the umbrella term for cancer of the glial cells that help support, protect, and connect nerves.
    — New Atlas, 11 Mar. 2025
  • Glioblastoma occurs when a tumor forms in the brain's glial cells, which typically are there to help keep the brain healthy.
    — Scott Berson, miamiherald, 30 May 2018
  • The tumors arise from the brain's glial cells, which are cells that are wrapped around neurons throughout the central nervous system.
    — Laurie McGinley, chicagotribune.com, 19 July 2017
  • Telocyte’s gene therapy would aim to rebuild those glial telomeres.
    — Katherine Ellen Foley, Quartz, 14 Jan. 2020
  • But the human brain has about 16 billion neurons in the cortex alone, not to mention billions more glial cells.
    — WIRED, 3 Oct. 2023
  • Astrocytes, one kind of glial cell, are key to the regulation of glutamate levels in the brain.
    — Neuroskeptic, Discover Magazine, 1 Mar. 2011
  • Goldman and some colleagues reported in August glial cells play a central role in the disorder.
    — Dina Fine Maron, Scientific American, 27 Feb. 2018
  • But all of the mice showed a reduced response to mechanical pain when the glial complex was deactivated.
    — National Geographic, 15 Aug. 2019
  • The brains of those with epilepsy contained more glial cells (non-neuronal cells that support and maintain other brain cells) than the brains of people with schizophrenia.
    — Kate Golembiewski, Discover Magazine, 15 Dec. 2022
  • Science Alert reports both types of glial cells are active during sleep and play an important role in repairing the brain at the end of the day.
    — Michael Harthorne, Fox News, 30 May 2017
  • Neurons and glial cells are like dance partners in the brain, coordinating moves that shape how signals flow and how excitable neurons become.
    — Pranjal Malewar, New Atlas, 3 Sep. 2025
  • The proper gene in the glial cells takes over, stopping the brain deterioration that would otherwise occur.
    — Gina Kolata, New York Times, 5 Oct. 2017
  • This led to a new understanding of how glial cells—non-neuronal cells long thought to be passive—actively shape psychiatric symptoms.
    — Hannah Millington, MSNBC Newsweek, 4 Aug. 2025
  • A number of studies have focused on senescent glial cells in the brain, an important and large class of non-neuronal cells that have a host of critical functions.
    — Gabriel A. Silva, Forbes, 1 Feb. 2022
  • While 80 percent of genes stayed stable over time, the neuronal and glial genes represent the other 20 percent.
    — Caroline Delbert, Popular Mechanics, 26 Mar. 2021
  • These proteins are released from glial cells and neurons, respectively, and only show up in the blood after mild brain injury, Okonkwo said.
    — Claire Bugos, Verywell Health, 17 Apr. 2024

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'glial.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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