Motor neuron | nerve cell | Britannica (original) (raw)

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• insect nervous system
  • 
    In insect: Nervous system
    …two types of nerve cells, motor neurons and association neurons. Motor neurons have main processes, or axons, that extend from the ganglia to contractile muscles, and minor processes, or dendrites, that connect with the neuropile. Association neurons, usually smaller than motor neurons, are linked with other parts of the nervous…
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• muscle function
  • 
    In muscle disease: Classification of muscle weakness
    … impulse traveling in the upper motor neuron from the cerebral cortex in the brain to the spinal cord. The nerve impulse then travels in the lower motor neuron from the spinal cord to the neuromuscular junction, where the neurotransmitter acetylcholine is released. Acetylcholine diffuses across the neuromuscular junction, stimulating acetylcholine…
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• neuron types
  • 
    In neuron
    A motor neuron transmits impulses from a central area of the nervous system to an effector, such as a muscle.
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• respiratory system
  • 
    In human respiratory system: Central organization of respiratory neurons
    …in turn they drive cranial motor neurons, which govern the activity of muscles in the upper airways and the activity of spinal motor neurons, which supply the diaphragm and other thoracic and abdominal muscles. The inspiratory and expiratory medullary neurons also receive input from nerve cells responsible for cardiovascular and…
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nervous system

• 
  In nervous system: Nervous systems
  …which makes contact with a motor neuron. The motor neuron carries efferent impulses to the effector, which produces the response. Three types of neurons are involved in this reflex arc, but a two-neuron arc, in which the receptor makes contact directly with the motor neuron, also occurs. In a two-neuron…
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• 
  In human nervous system: Cellular laminae
  …of clusters of large alpha motor neurons, which innervate striated muscle, and small gamma motor neurons, which innervate contractile elements of the muscle spindle. Axons of both alpha and gamma motor neurons emerge via the ventral roots. Laminae VII and VIII have variable configurations, and lamina VI is present only…
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human

• diseases

  • 
    In nervous system disease: Motor neuron disease
    …and lateral sclerosis are both motor neuron diseases, progressive disorders of older people that affect neurons of the ventral horns, of the medullary motor nuclei, and of the corticospinal tracts. ALS, or Lou Gehrig disease, is characterized by muscle wasting due to loss of the ventral-horn cells (the lower motor…
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• embryological development

  • 
    In prenatal development: Cranial nerves
    …VI, and XII are pure motor nerves that correspond to the ventral roots of spinal nerves. The acoustic nerves (VIII) are pure sensory nerves, each with a ganglion that subdivides for auditory functions and functions having to do with equilibrium and posture; they correspond to dorsal roots. Nerves X and…
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• neuritis

  • In neuritis
    The inflammation of motor neurons causes symptoms ranging from muscle weakness to complete paralysis. Muscles in the area served by the affected nerve lose tone, become tender, and may atrophy. Bell palsy, which causes a characteristic distortion of the muscles on one side of the face, is a…
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• enteric nervous system

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    In human nervous system: Enteric nervous system
    …interneurons relay the information to motor neurons. Motor neurons in turn modulate the activity of a variety of target cells, including mucous glands, smooth muscle cells, endocrine cells, epithelial cells, and blood vessels.
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• spinal cord

  • 
    In spinal cord
    …matter contains cell bodies, unmyelinated motor-neuron fibres, and interneurons connecting the two sides of the cord. Gray-matter cells form projections called horns. Fibres exiting the spinal cord from the dorsal and ventral horns join in paired tracts to form the spinal nerves. Information travels up the ascending tracts of neurons…
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• spinal nerve

  • 
    In spinal nerve
    The other, composed of motor fibres, leaves the spinal cord via the ventral root; its cell bodies lie in specific areas of the spinal cord itself.
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