Reflex arc

Common card · No. 434193

A reflex arc is a neural pathway that controls a reflex. In vertebrates, most sensory neurons synapse in the spinal cord and the signal then travels through it into the brain. This allows for faster reflex actions to occur by activating spinal motor neurons without the delay of routing signals through the brain. The brain will receive the input while the reflex is being carried out and the analysis of the signal takes place after the reflex action. There are two types: autonomic reflex arc (affecting inner organs) and somatic reflex arc (affecting muscles). Autonomic reflexes sometimes involve the spinal cord and some somatic reflexes are mediated more by the brain than the spinal cord. During a somatic reflex, nerve signals travel along the following pathway: Somatic receptors in the skin, muscles and tendons Afferent nerve fibers carry signals from the somatic receptors to the posterior horn of the spinal cord or to the brainstem An integrating center, the point at which the neurons...

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