reflex arc

noun Physiology.

the nerve pathways followed by an impulse during a reflex.

Origin of reflex arc

First recorded in 1880–85

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British Dictionary definitions for reflex arc

reflex arc

noun

physiol the neural pathway over which impulses travel to produce a reflex action, consisting of at least one afferent (receptor) and one efferent (effector) neuron

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

reflex arc in Medicine

reflex arc

n.

The route followed by nerve impulses to produce a reflex act, from the periphery through the afferent nerve to the nervous system, and thence through the efferent nerve to the effector organ.