WELCOME TO SCIENCE

FRIDAYS!
REFLEXES

Presented by Ruth Williams

Overview
 Introduce Reflexes
 Anatomical Background
 Visceral Reflexes
 Somatic Reflexes
 Importance of Testing Reflexes: Testing
your Reflexes
 View Cadaveric Tissues involved in
Reflexes
What is a reflex?

 A reflex is an automatic, involuntary

response.
 A reflex can be a response to a stimulus or to
internal feedback.
 Reflexes are necessary to survival.
What is the function of a reflex?
 The function of a reflex is to maintain
homeostasis.
 Removes body from painful stimuli that could cause
tissue damage.
 Prevents body from suddenly falling and moving.
 Maintains blood pressure, breathing rate, water
intake, blood carbon dioxide levels (yawning), etc.
 Protects us from irritants: coughing, sneezing,
vomiting, etc.
Anatomical Background
 A crash course in the nervous system:
 What is a neuron? What is a nerve?
 Spinal cord anatomy and physiology.
What is a neuron?
 A neuron is the functional unit of the nervous
system.
 Neurons and their components can be found in the
brain and spinal cord (two components of central
nervous system, CNS) and peripheral tissues.
 Functions:
 Relay sensory and motor information from one tissue to
another using electrochemical signals.
 Act as integrating centers.
What is a neuron?
 A neuron is composed of three main structures.
 Cell body (soma, perikaryon)
 Contains the components of a typical cell that conduct the
normal processes of a living cell.
 Responds to messages from dendrites by processing
information.
 Dendrites
 Extensions of the cell body that are receptive to stimuli.
 Conducts messages towards cell body.
 Axons
 A single extension of the cell body that transmits information
from cell bodies to ‘other cells’.
 ‘Other cells’ respond to messages by continuing the conduction
of the message or physically doing work (e.g. muscle
contraction).
 What is a neuron?

Web Anatomy, University of Minnesota

What is a neuron?
 Types of neurons
 Neurons can be categorized by the type of
information/messages they are transmitting.
 Sensory neurons
 Motor neurons

 Interneurons
CNS
Sensory neurons Motor neurons
What is a nerve?
 A nerve is composed of the axons and dendrites
of multiple neurons.
 The cell bodies of these nerves are usually
located in the CNS or right next to the CNS.
 The nerve itself is located outside of the CNS.
 Examples
 Ulnar nerve
 Sciatic nerve
What is a nerve?
What is a nerve?
 Most nerves conduct messages to and from
the CNS.
 Messages conducted towards the CNS are
sensory in nature – pain, touch, temperature.
 Messages conducted away from the CNS are
motor in nature – result in muscle contraction
or gland secretion.
Spinal Cord Anatomy
 The spinal cord houses a number of the cell
bodies of the nerves located in the
peripheral tissues.
 As a result, the spinal cord acts as one of the
integrating centers for reflexes.
Spinal Cord Anatomy
 The spinal cord is housed within the
vertebrate of the vertebral column.
 The spinal cord extends from the base of
the skull to vertebrate L2 (lumbar 2).
 The spinal cord is composed of cervical,
thoracic, lumbar and sacral regions (named
for association with specific vertebrate).
Spinal Cord Anatomy
 Again, because the spinal cord houses many of
the cell bodies for the major nerves of the body,
these nerves must be able to attach to the spinal
cord.
 Nerves attach to the spinal cord at two roots
 Anterior root
 Dorsal root
 As you move away from spinal cord the two roots of
each nerve merge to form the actual nerve.
Spinal Cord Anatomy

The JayDoc Histo Web, University of Kansas

Spinal Cord Anatomy

Brain Galaxy Art Gallery, Jaica A. Kinsman

Reflexes
 Crash course almost over…..
 A reflex is a response to a stimulus.
 The actual anatomical and physiological basis
behind a reflex is a reflex arc.
 A reflex arc is the simplest of all nerve pathways.
 A nerve pathway is the route messages or information
travels through the nervous system.
 Involves at least 2 neurons – a sensory and motor neuron.
Components of a Reflex Arc
 There are 5 basic components to a reflex arc:
 Sensory receptor – a nerve or specialized tissue
located at the end of a sensory neuron that is the first
structure to respond to a stimulus.
 Sensory neuron – may act as the sensory receptor.
 Spinal cord or brain tissue
 Motor neuron
 Effector organ/tissue – the tissue that responds to the
message from the motor neuron.
 Muscle
 Gland
Types of Reflexes
 There are two main groups of reflexes:
 Somatic reflexes

 Autonomic/visceral reflexes

 How reflexes are categorized depends on the

effector tissue involved.
Autonomic Reflexes
 The effector tissues of autonomic reflexes are
smooth muscle, cardiac muscle and glandular
tissue.
 Both the brain and spinal cord can act as
integrating centers for autonomic reflexes.
 Autonomic reflexes result in gastric juice
secretion, mouth watering upon
seeing/smelling/thinking about food, regulating
blood pressure, adjusting heart rate to level of
exercise, etc.
Somatic Reflexes
 The effector tissue of somatic reflexes is
skeletal muscle.
 You have conscious control over all of your
skeletal muscles.
 Some skeletal muscle movements do not require
your conscious thought. These movements occur
without you consciously having to initiate the
muscular movement.
 Breathing, swallowing, blinking, ability to pull away
from a hot object before you even sense the heat, etc.
Examples of Somatic Reflexes
 There are three common somatic reflexes
discussed in most anatomy and physiology
courses.
 Stretch (knee-jerk, patellar) reflex.
 Withdrawal (flexor) reflex.
 Crossed-extensor reflex.
Anatomy of a Stretch Reflex
 Simplest reflex arc.
 Involves two neurons.
 1. Doctor taps your patellar tendon with a Taylor
Reflex Hammer.
 2. Tapping of the tendon causes muscle to stretch.
 3. Stretching of muscle stimulates specialized
sensory receptors located in thigh muscles called
muscle spindles to be stretched.
 4. Sensory dendrites in muscle spindles become
stimulated.
 5. Sensory dendrites conduct message of stimulation
towards spinal cord through a nerve.
Anatomy of a Stretch Reflex
 6. Sensory dendrite meets up with its cell body in the
dorsal root.
 7. From the cell body, the axon conducts the
information into the spinal cord.
 8. In the spinal cord, the sensory axon synapses with
a motor neuron.
 9. The motor axon carries the message out of the
spinal cord through the anterior root.
 10. The motor axon will synapse with the muscles of
the thigh which results in contraction of the
quadriceps muscle – response: knee extension.
Anatomy of a Stretch Reflex
Anatomy of a Withdrawal Reflex
 Involves three neurons.
 Function: remove a limb or body part form a
painful stimulus.
 1. Step on a stone with your left foot.
 2. A sensory neuron acts as a sensory receptor and is
stimulated by the stone.
 3. Sensory dendrites conduct message of stimulation
towards spinal cord through a nerve.
 4. Sensory dendrite meets up with its cell body in the
dorsal root.
Anatomy of a Withdrawal Reflex
 5. From the cell body, the axon conducts the
information into the spinal cord.
 6. In the spinal cord, the sensory axon synapses with
an interneuron.
 7. The interneuron synapses with a motor neuron in
the spinal cord.
 8. The motor axon carries the message out of the
spinal cord through the anterior root.
 11. The motor axon will synapse with the muscles of
the thigh which results in contraction of the
hamstring muscles – response: knee flexion.
Anatomy of a Withdrawal Reflex
Anatomy of a Crossed-Extensor
Reflex
 Associated with a withdrawal reflex of the lower
limbs.
 Prevents falls by shifting weight of body to
unaffected limb.
 1. This reflex begins in the spinal cord.
 2. The same sensory neuron that picked up the pain
stimulation will synapse with a second interneuron in
the spinal cord.
 3. The second interneuron will carry information to
opposite side of the spinal cord, where the
interneuron will synapse with a motor neuron.
Anatomy of a Crossed-Extensor
Reflex
 4. The motor axon carries the message out of
the spinal cord through the anterior root.
 5. The motor axon will synapse with the
muscles of the thigh which results in: knee
extension.
Importance of Testing Reflexes
 Many of our somatic reflexes can be assessed.
 Testing somatic reflexes is an important diagnostic
tool.
 Assessment of somatic reflexes tells us something about the
condition of the nervous system (usually the CNS).
 If a reflex is distorted, exaggerated, weak or absent this may
indicate a problem in the nervous system.
 This is usually one of the first signs of nervous system
pathology.
Importance of Testing Reflexes
 Pathology associated with abnormal
reflexes
 Absent reflexes
 Demyelination
 Muscular dystrophies
 Spinal cord injuries
 Closed head injuries

 Exaggerated reflexes
 Spinal stenosis – compression of spinal cord.
References
 Armbruster, R., Challgren, B., & Jensen, M. WebAnatomy. Retrieved
January 16, 2003, from University of Minnesota Web site:
http://www.gen.umn.edu/faculty_staff/jensen/1135/
 Anatomy and Physiology: Spinal Cord, Nerves and Muscles.
Retrieved December 11, 2002, from KidsMove Web site:
http://www.remove.org/kidsmove/ana.html
 Kingman, J. Brain Galaxy Art Gallery. Retrieved January 16, 2003,
from Web site: http://www.bowdoin.edu
 Nosek, T., & Stoney, S. (1999). Essentials of Human Physiology.
Gold Standard Multimedia.
 Reflexes. Retrieved December 11, 2002, from Newton’s Apple Web
site: http://www.ktca.org/newtons/13/rlxes.html
 Rutherford, K. What are reflexes? Retrieved December 11, 2002,
from KidsHealth Web site:
http://kidshealth.org/kid/talk/qa/reflexes.html
References continued
 Scarbrough, M. & Wolf, M. The JayDoc HistoWeb. Retrieved
January 16, 2003, from University of Kansas Web site:
http://www.Kumc.edu/instruction/medicine/anatomy/histoweb
 Seeley, R., Stephens, T., & Tate, Phillip. (2003). Anatomy and
Physiology. New York: McGraw Hill.
Testing Your Reflexes
 Work with a partner
 1. Test the speed of your reflexes.
 Involuntary reflexes can occur as fast as 320 miles
per hour.
 Conscious muscular responses occur much slower
– this is what we will test first.
 2. Testing somatic reflexes
 Testing involuntary somatic reflexes.
 We will not be using these reflexes as diagnostic tools.