Title: pyramidal cell
Long Title: IUPAC Gold Book - pyramidal cell
DOI: 10.1351/goldbook.12037
Status: current

Definition
Large neuron of the cerebral cortex having a triangular cell body in histological section with several dendrites at the base and one large apical axon.

Notes
1) Pyramidal cells are also found in other brain areas such as the hippocampus.
2) They are thought to play a role in cognitive function.

Related Terms
- axon: https://goldbook.iupac.org/terms/view/11627
- brain: https://goldbook.iupac.org/terms/view/11647
- cognitive function: https://goldbook.iupac.org/terms/view/11684

Source
- PAC, 2015, 87, 841. 'IUPAC Glossary of terms used in neurotoxicology (IUPAC Recommendations 2015)' on page 900 (https://doi.org/10.1515/pac-2015-0103)

Other Outputs
- html: https://goldbook.iupac.org/terms/view/12037/html
- json: https://goldbook.iupac.org/terms/view/12037/json
- xml: https://goldbook.iupac.org/terms/view/12037/xml

Citation: Citation: 'pyramidal cell' in IUPAC Compendium of Chemical Terminology, 5th ed. International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry; 2025. Online version 5.0.0, 2025. 10.1351/goldbook.12037
License: The IUPAC Gold Book is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike CC BY-SA 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) for individual terms.
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Disclaimer: The International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC) is continuously reviewing and, where needed, updating terms in the Compendium of Chemical Terminology (the IUPAC Gold Book). Users of these terms are encouraged to include the version of a term with its use and to check regularly for updates to term definitions that you are using.
Accessed: 2026-05-10T15:24:10+00:00