muscle spindle

American  

noun

1. Cell Biology.  a proprioceptor in skeletal muscle, composed of striated muscle fibers and sensory nerve endings in a connective tissue sheath, that conveys information via the spinal nerves on the state of muscle stretch, important in the reflex mechanism that maintains body posture.

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Etymology

Origin of muscle spindle

First recorded in 1890–95

Example Sentences

Takeoka, A., Vollenweider, I., Courtine, G. & Arber, S. Muscle spindle feedback directs locomotor recovery and circuit reorganization after spinal cord injury.

From Nature

A "tendon spindle," very similar to the muscle spindle spoken of in the text, but found at the tendinous end of a muscle instead of embedded in the muscle substance itself, "a" indicates the tendon, and "e" the muscle fibers; "b" is a sensory axon, and "c" its end-brush about the spindle.

From Project Gutenberg