MUSCLE PHYSIOLOGY

Detailed explanation-1: -The neuromuscular junction (NMJ) is a synaptic connection between the terminal end of a motor nerve and a muscle (skeletal/ smooth/ cardiac). It is the site for the transmission of action potential from nerve to the muscle. It is also a site for many diseases and a site of action for many pharmacological drugs.

Detailed explanation-2: -The place where a neuron makes contact with an individual muscle fiber is called a neuromuscular junction. The neuromuscular junction is basically a synapse: the neuron releases a neurotransmitter called acetylcholine (ACh) which binds to receptors on the sarcolemma (the cell wall of the muscle fiber).

Detailed explanation-3: -Acetylcholine is a small molecule that acts as a chemical messenger to propagate nerve impulses across the neuromuscular junction between a nerve and a muscle. When the nerve impulse from a motor neuron arrives at the tip of its axon, acetylcholine molecules stored there in vesicles are released into the synaptic gap.

Detailed explanation-4: -The synapse is a specialized structure that allows one neuron to communicate with another neuron or a muscle cell. There are billions of nerve cells in the brain and each nerve cell can make and receive up to 10, 000 synaptic connections with other nerve cells.