blood-brain barrier

noun

ˈbləd-ˈbrān- 

: a naturally occurring barrier created by the modification of brain capillaries (as by reduction in fenestration and formation of tight cell-to-cell contacts) that prevents many substances from leaving the blood and crossing the capillary walls into the brain tissues

Examples of blood-brain barrier in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Scientists around the world engineered viruses that could slide through the blood-brain barrier that walls off our most vital organ from the rest of the body. —Jason Mast, STAT, 12 May 2026

At therapeutic doses, GLP-1 drugs cross the blood-brain barrier and dampen dopamine signaling in the brain’s core reward center, making addictive substances less rewarding. —Ziyad Al-Aly, Fortune, 5 Mar. 2026

At therapeutic doses, GLP-1 drugs cross the blood-brain barrier and dampen dopamine signaling in the brain’s core reward center, making addictive substances less rewarding. —Ziyad Al-Aly, The Conversation, 4 Mar. 2026

The virus will break through his underdeveloped blood-brain barrier and begin attacking his brain matter directly, leading to primary measles encephalitis. —Elizabeth Bruenig, The Atlantic, 12 Feb. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1934, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for blood-brain barrier

• noncarrier
• carrier

Medical Definition

blood-brain barrier

noun

: a naturally occurring barrier created by the modification of brain capillaries (as by reduction in fenestration and formation of tight cell-to-cell contacts) that prevents many substances from leaving the blood and crossing the capillary walls into the brain tissues

—abbreviation BBB