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Everything about Muscle spindle
Innervated muscle structure involved in reflex actions and proprioception
Muscle spindles are stretch receptors within the body of a skeletal muscle that primarily detect changes in the length of the muscle. They convey length information to the central nervous system via afferent nerve fibers. This information can be processed by the brain as proprioception. The responses of muscle spindles to changes in length also play an important role in regulating the contraction of muscles, for example, by activating motor neurons via the stretch reflex to resist muscle stretch. Wikipedia →
🧭 Start here: a 6-step reading path
- Read the overview: Muscle spindleA 5-minute orientation
- Skim a recent paper: Molecular characterization of the intact mouse muscle spindle using a multi-omics approachInfluential work since 2022
- Pick up a classic book: The effect of lesions of the fastigial nucleus on the static and dynamic responses of muscle spindle primary afferents in the catThe most-reprinted book on the subject
- Read the landmark paper: Muscle spindle activity following muscle tendon vibration in manCited 142 times
- Go sideways: Gamma motor neuronA closely related topic
- Go sideways: Efferent nerve fiberA closely related topic
📖 Definitions
Noun A stretch receptor within the body of a skeletal muscle that detects changes in the length of the muscle.
🗂️ The subject at a glance
🏆 Landmark papers (most cited)
Muscle spindle activity following muscle tendon vibration in man
Muscle spindle function in healthy and diseased muscle
Mechanotransduction in the muscle spindle
Mammalian muscle spindle: peripheral mechanisms
The isolated mammalian muscle spindle
Cerebellar ataxia and muscle spindle sensitivity
Muscle Spindle Supply to the Human Jaw Muscle
The pathology of the muscle spindle
🆕 Influential since 2022
Molecular characterization of the intact mouse muscle spindle using a multi-omics approach
Skeletal muscle function underpins muscle spindle abundance
Molecular determinants of mechanosensation in the muscle spindle
The association between muscle architecture and muscle spindle abundance
Intrafusal-fiber LRP4 for muscle spindle formation and maintenance in adult and aged animals
📚 Books worth reading
- 📕The effect of lesions of the fastigial nucleus on the static and dynamic responses of muscle spindle primary afferents in the catDavid Kornhauser · 1980
The Muscle spindleIan A. Boyd · 1985
Mammalian muscle receptors and their central actionsPeter B. C. Matthews · 1972
Zur Kenntniss der MuskelspindelnLaura Forster · 1894
Sulla fine anatomia dei fusi neuro-muscolari del gatto e sul loro significato fisiologicoAngelo Ruffini · 1898
On the minute anatomy of the neuro-muscular spindles of the cat, and on their physiological significanceAngelo Ruffini · 1898- 📕Research in muscle development and the muscle spindleMuscular Dystrophy Associations of America · 1972
- 📕Characterization of human oro-facial and masticatory muscles with respect to fibre types, myosins and capillariesPer Stål · 1994
Ranked by number of editions on Open Library, a rough measure of how lasting a book is.
🔗 Related topics
- Gamma motor neuron A gamma motor neuron (γ motor neuron), also called gamma motoneuron, or fusimotor neuron, is a type of lower motor neuron that takes part in the process…
- Efferent nerve fiber Efferent nerve fibers are axons (nerve fibers) of efferent neurons that exit a particular region. These terms have a slightly different meaning in the…
- Type Ia sensory fiber A type Ia sensory fiber (also group Ia afferent fiber, or primary afferent fiber) is one of two types of afferent (sensory) nerve fibers innervating muscle…
- Intrafusal muscle fiber Intrafusal muscle fibers are skeletal muscle fibers that serve as specialized sensory organs (proprioceptors). They detect the amount and rate of change…
- Beta motor neuron Beta motor neurons (β motor neurons), also called beta motoneurons, are a few kind of lower motor neuron, along with alpha motor neurons and gamma motor…
- Motor neuron A motor neuron (or motoneuron), also known as efferent neuron is a neuron that allows for both voluntary and involuntary movements of the body through…
- Extrafusal muscle fiber Extrafusal muscle fibers are the standard skeletal muscle fibers that are innervated by alpha motor neurons and generate tension by contracting, thereby…
- Alpha motor neuron Alpha (α) motor neurons (also called alpha motoneurons), are large, multipolar lower motor neurons of the brainstem and spinal cord. They innervate extrafusal…