spatial summation

noun

See under summation(def 5).

Origin of spatial summation

First recorded in 1965–70

Words nearby spatial summation

spathiphyllum, spathose, spathulate, spatial, spatial frequency, spatial summation, spatiography, spatiotemporal, spatter, spatter cone, spatter dash

Definition for spatial summation (2 of 2)

summation
[ suh-mey-shuh n ]
/ səˈmeɪ ʃən /

noun

the act or process of summing.
the result of this; an aggregate or total.
a review or recapitulation of previously stated facts or statements, often with a final conclusion or conclusions drawn from them.
Law. the final arguments of opposing attorneys before a case goes to the jury.
Physiology. the arousal of impulses by a rapid succession of stimuli, carried either by separate sensory neurons (spatial summation) or by the same sensory neuron (temporal summation).

Origin of summation

1750–60; < Medieval Latin summātiōn- (stem of summātiō), equivalent to summāt(us) (past participle of summāre to sum; see -ate1) + -iōn- -ion

OTHER WORDS FROM summation

sum·ma·tion·al, adjective

British Dictionary definitions for spatial summation

summation
/ (sʌˈmeɪʃən) /

noun

the act or process of determining a sum; addition
the result of such an act or process
a summary
US law the concluding statements made by opposing counsel in a case before a court

Derived forms of summation

summational, adjective summative, adjective

Word Origin for summation

C18: from Medieval Latin summātiō, from summāre to total, from Latin summa sum 1

Medical definitions for spatial summation

summation
[ sə-mā′shən ]

n.

The process by which multiple or repeated stimuli can produce a response in a nerve, muscle, or other part that one stimulus alone cannot produce.