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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.

Etymology

Origin of muscle spindle

First recorded in 1890–95

Example Sentences

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A collateral of the muscle spindle fiber will also inhibit the motor neuron of the antagonist muscles.

From Textbooks • Jun. 19, 2013

The muscle is quickly stretched, resulting in activation of the muscle spindle that sends a signal into the spinal cord through the dorsal root.

From Textbooks • Jun. 19, 2013

In this reflex, when a skeletal muscle is stretched, a muscle spindle receptor is activated.

From Textbooks • Jun. 19, 2013

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.