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Glite Dictionary
motor end plate

motor end plate

7.5
The place where a nerve connects to a muscle to make it move
  • noun
  • /ˈmoʊtər ɛnd pleɪt/
  • Specialized
translation icon : placa terminal motora
  • Acetylcholine binds at the motor end plate, allowing the muscle to contract.

Examples

  • Damage to the motor end plate can result in muscle weakness and dysfunction.

  • The motor end plate is essential for transmitting nerve signals to the muscle.

  • Botox is a chemodenervation agent that weakens the target muscle by preventing acetylcholine release at the motor end plate.

    Academic text (2004)

  • 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)

Synonyms

endplate
vsmotor end plate
  • Specialized
8.5

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

is the same region but written as a two word technical phrase
end-plate
vsmotor end plate
  • Specialized
8.4

The flat end of a nerve that sends signals to a muscle

is the same region but written as a two word phrase without a hyphen

Surface Forms

motor end plate singular
motor end plates plural

Morphology

motor + end + plate

The components 'motor' (relating to movement/nerves) + 'end' (outer extremity) + 'plate' (flat sheet) make the literal image of a flat area at the end of something related to motor function, so the basic referent is compositionally recoverable. However, the precise anatomical role (a specialized synaptic region on a motor neuron transmitting impulses to a muscle fiber) is technical domain knowledge that a B1 learner who simply knows the constituent words is unlikely to infer, so the term is only partially transparent.

Etymology

Motor end plate names the flat spot at the end of a motor nerve cell that touches a muscle, with the plate like a tiny contact pad. So, imagine a plug meeting a socket: the nerve 'sends messages' there to 'make a muscle move', and that is why the name points to the place where nerve and muscle meet.