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A motor nerve, or efferent nerve, is a nerve that contains exclusively efferent nerve fibers and transmits motor signals from the central nervous system (CNS) to the muscles of the body. This is different from the motor neuron , which includes a cell body and branching of dendrites, while the nerve is made up of a bundle of axons.
The number of muscle fibers within each unit can vary within a particular muscle and even more from muscle to muscle: the muscles that act on the largest body masses have motor units that contain more muscle fibers, whereas smaller muscles contain fewer muscle fibers in each motor unit. [1]
A nerve that supplies information to the brain from an area of the body, or controls an action of the body is said to innervate that section of the body or organ. Other terms relate to whether the nerve affects the same side ("ipsilateral") or opposite side ("contralateral") of the body, to the part of the brain that supplies it.
An impulse from a nerve cell causes calcium release and brings about a single, short muscle contraction called a muscle twitch. If there is a problem at the neuromuscular junction, a very prolonged contraction may occur, such as the muscle contractions that result from tetanus. Also, a loss of function at the junction can produce paralysis. [5]
Area of the human body surface innervated by each spinal nerve. Even mammals, including humans, show the segmented bilaterian body plan at the level of the nervous system. The spinal cord contains a series of segmental ganglia, each giving rise to motor and sensory nerves that innervate a portion of the body surface and underlying musculature.
There are 43 segments of nerves in the human body. [4] With each segment, there is a pair of sensory and motor nerves. 31 segments of nerves are in the spinal cord and 12 are in the brain stem. [4] Interneurons also known as association neurons are present throughout the central nervous system forming links between the sensory and motor fibres. [5]
Nerve conduction studies can only diagnose diseases on the muscular and nerve level. They cannot detect disease in the spinal cord or the brain. In most disorders of the muscle, nerve, or neuromuscular junction, the latency time is increased. [12] This is a result of decreased nerve conduction or electrical stimulation at the site of the muscle.
Nerve The nerve(s) which tell the muscle to act (innervates the muscle). The term "nerve" is included for clarity. Action The movement performed by the muscle from the standard anatomical position. In other positions, other actions may be performed. Antagonist The muscle which can 'cancel' or to some degree reverse the action of the muscle.