reflex arc

reflex arc n the complete nervous path that is involved in a reflex

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the nervous circuit involved in a reflex, being at its simplest a sensory nerve with a receptor, linked at a synapse in the brain or spinal cord with a motor nerve, which supplies a muscle or gland. In a simple reflex (such as the patellar reflex) only two neurones may be involved, but in other reflexes there may be several interneurone in the arc.

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the neural arc used in a reflex action; an impulse travels to a nerve center over afferent fibers and the response travels outward from the center to an effector organ or part over efferent fibers. See illustration.

Simple reflex arc by which sensory input leads to a muscular movement. A receptor transduces a painful stimulus into an action potential, which is conveyed by the afferent neuron to the central nervous system (CNS) and then passed on to the target organ by an efferent neuron, where the electrical signals are converted to muscle motion.