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Glite Dictionary
reflex arc

reflex arc

1 7.0
A path of nerve cells that sends quick signals for body reactions, like the knee-jerk
  • noun
  • /ˈrɛflɛks ɑrk/
  • Specialized
translation icon : arco reflejo
  • The reflex arc quickly sends signals from the sensory neuron to the motor neuron when touching something hot.
  • functional reflex arc

And Rick says, do you know about the Bonelli Reflex Arc test?

Examples

  • So here he would be showing a complete diagram of what we would call a monosynaptic reflex arc, which we now know to be a muscle to muscle reflex.

  • Those reflex arcs become functional through use resulting from experience of hot conditions, but only during the first few years of life.

    Academic text (1991)

  • This reflex arc is known as the laryngeal adductor reflex.

    Academic text (2004)

  • 26 Such a pattern, Carlson says, "signifies that the first functional reflex arcs have been laid down."

    Academic text (1990)

  • The afferent and central portions of the baroreceptor reflex arc, however, function normally during syncope, and vasopressin is secreted.

    Academic text (1991)

  • During a knee-jerk reaction, the reflex arc bypasses the brain for a faster response.

  • When the doctor tapped my knee, the reflex arc made my leg jerk automatically.

Synonyms

monosynaptic reflex
vsreflex arc
  • Specialized
7.6

A fast automatic body response using one connection between the nerve that senses and the nerve that moves

typically includes a relay neuron rather than only a single synapse

Surface Forms

reflex arc singular
reflex arcs plural

Morphology

reflex + arc

The compound combines a familiar word 'reflex' (automatic response) with 'arc' (literally a curve), and in technical usage 'arc' is extended to mean a route or circuit. A B1 learner who knows both words may guess it refers to some kind of path related to a reflex, but the specific notion of a neural pathway/circuit is a domain-specific metaphorical extension that is not fully predictable without exposure. This makes the expression partially transparent.

Etymology

Reflex arc comes from a simple image: a quick reflex (an automatic reaction) moving along an arc or short 'path' from a sensor to a relay to a muscle. That's why reflex arc means the fast, automatic route the body uses to react 'without thinking'.