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BME 284L Final Prep Exam Questions With
Correct Answers
Skeletal muscles have specialized receptors which convey info about _________ to the central
nervous system - answer✔muscle length, tension, pressure
muscle fibers _________ and __________ in response to the incoming impulses from a motor
neuron - answer✔depolarize, twitch (contract)
muscle spindles are arranged in parallel with - answer✔muscle fibers
What do intrafusal fibers do? - answer✔Intrafusal fibers are parallel to muscle fibers and sense
how much a muscle is stretched
the majority of a muscle consist of ________ fibers - answer✔extrafusal
Stretch (myotatic) reflex - answer✔when a muscle is stretched, it "fights back" and contracts
the minimal delay between a muscle stretching and the reflex contraction in stretch (myotatic)
reflex is due to its __________ pathway - answer✔monosynaptic
conduction velocity formula - answer✔total path(mm) / (mean reflex time(msec)-0.5msec)
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Does the subject's reflex time change with different stimulus strengths? Why does it or doesn't
it change? - answer✔No, increasing the stimulus strength would not affect the subject's reflex
time because the reflex occurs along the same path length every single time. With an increased
stimulus however, you would expect an increased reflex response. This is due to the activation
of more muscle spindle receptors and more neurons
which muscle groups are involved in the plantar flexion and in dorsiflexion of the ankle -
answer✔plantar flexion: gastrocnemius, soleus, plantaris
dorsiflexion: tibialis anterior
how does temporal summation in a neuron differ from spatial summation? - answer✔temporal
summation: converts a rapid series of weak pulses from a single source into one large signal
spatial summation: when several weak signals from different locations are converted into a
single larger one
What are heavily concentrated in the axonal membranes at the nodes of Ranvier of myelinated
axons? How do these structures assist in the transmission of electrical signals? -
answer✔Sodium and potassium channels voltage gated channels. These sodium structures
allow for continuous depolarization to occur down the axon, away from the cell body to ensure
the action potential remains strong. Potassium channels allow for resting membrane potential
to return.
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