muscle spindle

noun

1. Cell Biology. a proprioceptor in skeletal muscle, composed of striated muscle fibers and sensory nerve endings in a connective tissue sheath, that conveys information via the spinal nerves on the state of muscle stretch, important in the reflex mechanism that maintains body posture.

Word History and Origins

Origin of muscle spindle¹

First recorded in 1890–95

Example Sentences

Takeoka, A., Vollenweider, I., Courtine, G. & Arber, S. Muscle spindle feedback directs locomotor recovery and circuit reorganization after spinal cord injury.

From Nature

A "tendon spindle," very similar to the muscle spindle spoken of in the text, but found at the tendinous end of a muscle instead of embedded in the muscle substance itself, "a" indicates the tendon, and "e" the muscle fibers; "b" is a sensory axon, and "c" its end-brush about the spindle.

From Project Gutenberg