= Ependymal cell
An <ependymal cell> is a <cell> of the <ependyma>, the lining of the <brain> <ventricular system> and <central canal of the spinal cord>. Many ventricular <ependymal cells> carry multiple <motile cilia> facing the <cerebrospinal fluid>. Their coordinated beating can move nearby fluid; the cells are distinct from the <neurons> whose signaling circuits surround the cavity.<Anatomy and Physiology 2e by J. Gordon Betts and others>[Nervous tissue: ependymal cells and cerebrospinal-fluid circulation]{ref}
In a 2016 study, organized <cilia> modules in the mouse <third ventricle> generated structured fluid-flow networks and a periodically switching flow pattern.<Cilia-based flow network in the brain ventricles by Regina Faubel and others>[Abstract; collective ciliary transport]{ref} The result illustrates how an epithelial lining can actively organize its fluid environment rather than simply delimit it. A <cilium> on one <cell> acts locally; tissue-level organization determines the collective transport pattern.
<Tanycytes> are specialized ependymal-related <cells> with long processes. Their geometry and functions should not be assigned indiscriminately to every <ependymal cell>.
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