A small bundle or cluster of nerve fibers, muscle fibers, or other similar structures in the body.
From Latin fasciculus, the diminutive form of fascis (bundle or bundle of sticks). The Romans used this term to describe any grouped collection, and anatomists adopted it to describe fiber bundles in tissue.
The same Latin root 'fascis' gave us 'fasces' (the symbol of power in ancient Rome with bundled rods), 'fascinate' (to bind as if by magic), and 'fascism'—all about bundling or binding together, whether literally or metaphorically.
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