2. A thin thread of natural or artificial material that can be used to make cloth, paper, etc.: This organic fiber will allow the fabric to breathe and the daily gazette can be made from both cotton and wood fiber.
Fred was not a fibber when he told Leann that a diet high in fiber would be good for her. In fact, he wrote out the information on a piece of paper that was made of natural fiber.
2. A slender, elongated, threadlike object or structure.
3. In botany, one of the elongated, thick-walled cells that give strength and support to plant tissue.
4. In anatomy, any of the filaments constituting the extracellular matrix of connective tissue.
5. Any of various elongated cells or threadlike structures, especially a muscle fiber or a nerve.
6. A natural or synthetic filament; such as, of cotton or nylon, capable of being spun into yarn.
7. Something that provides substance or texture.
8. Basic strength or toughness; fortitude; such as, lacking in moral fiber.
9. Coarse, indigestible plant matter, consisting primarily of polysaccharides; such as, cellulose, that when eaten stimulates intestinal peristalsis.
Fiber roughage consists of four categories: cellulose, hemicelluloses, lignins and pectins; found in unrefined foods; such as, wholemeal cereals and flour, root vegetables, nuts and fruit.
It is known to affect bowel functions, probably because of its capacity to hold water in a gel-like form and it is makes an important contribution to the prevention of constipation, diverticulosis (presence of small bulging sacs pushing outward from the colon wall), irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) or recurrent abdominal pain and diarrhea often alternating with periods of constipation, appendicitis, diabetes mellitus (disease associated with abnormally high levels of the sugar glucose in the blood), and cancer of the colon.
Many western diets do not contain enough fiber roughage to satisfy the needs in human bodies.
These fibers have a wide range of applications; such as, in the transmission of computer data, telephone messages, and other communications.
The gamma efferent fibers are responsible for deep tendon reflexes, spasticity (increased tone of a muscle), and rigidity, but not for the degree of contractile response. They function in regulating the sensitivity of the spindle and the total tension of the muscle.
2. A test used to evaluate the activity of single fibers of selected muscles; for example, common extensor of fingers, displayed as an action potential on an cathode-ray oscilloscope; SF-EMG may detect early defects in neuromuscular junction diseases; such as, myasthenia gravis, Eaton-Lambert syndrome, or botulism.