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Glite Dictionary
end-plate

end-plate

8.4
The flat end of a nerve that sends signals to a muscle
  • noun
  • /ˈɛndˌpleɪt/
  • Specialized
translation icon : placa terminal
  • Botox is a chemodenervation agent that weakens the target muscle by preventing acetylcholine release at the motor end plate.

Examples

  • It's the end plate, the muscle end plate, it's a flat structure, but it has all the synapses on the muscle cell.

  • These factors include an intact neuromuscular junction enabling electrical impulses to travel to the motor end plate and to traverse the neuromuscular region where acetylcholine acts as a neurochemical on the muscle membrane.

    Academic text (2005)

  • The motor neuron releases neurotransmitters at the end-plate, allowing the muscle to contract.

  • Damage to the end-plate can prevent effective communication between the nerve and the muscle.

  • During the reflex arc, signals are transmitted from the spinal cord to the end-plate of a muscle.

Synonyms

synapse
vsend-plate
  • Specialized
24 6.1

A small gap where one nerve cell sends signals to another or to a muscle

is the neuron's flattened terminal region within that junction
endplate
vsend-plate
  • Specialized
8.5

The part at the end of a nerve that sends signals to a muscle

is the same term written with a hyphen
motor end plate
vsend-plate
  • Specialized
7.5

The place where a nerve connects to a muscle to make it move

is the shorter hyphenated form for the same anatomical area
neuromuscular junction
vsend-plate
  • Specialized
5.7

A place where a nerve sends a signal to a muscle to make it move

focuses on the neuron's terminal region rather than the whole connection

Surface Forms

end-plate singular
end-plates plural

Morphology

end-plate = end + plate (semi-transparent) = end + plate

The compound structure 'end' + 'plate' is compositionally clear, but the specialized anatomical function (motor end-plate) is technical and not fully predictable by an average learner.

Etymology

End-plate comes from the parts end ('last part') and plate ('flat piece'), so imagine a small flat plate at the tip of something. That's why an end-plate is the flat area at the end of a motor nerve where it meets a muscle and sends signals to make the muscle move.