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Neuromuscular Junctions and Electric Organs

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The Peripheral Nervous System

Abstract

The neuromuscular junction has been much studied anatomically and physiologically, not only because of its influence on muscle action, but also because of its ready accessibility as a peripheral synapse and the significant information that it contributes to synaptic morphology and function in general. Fine structural studies employing the electron microscope and histochemical studies, usually involving the localization of Cholinesterase, have contributed most significantly in recent times to our knowledge of the anatomy of the neuromuscular junction. These studies have dealt not only with the structure of the myoneural junction itself, but also with the distribution and location of the nerve terminals on the muscle fibers. Variations have been found, both in the structure and in the disposition of the nerve terminals, and these varieties of endings have attracted attention because they are correlated in many instances with functional variations in the action of the muscle fibers.

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© 1974 Plenum Press, New York

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Hess, A. (1974). Neuromuscular Junctions and Electric Organs. In: Hubbard, J.I. (eds) The Peripheral Nervous System. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4615-8699-9_4

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4615-8699-9_4

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Boston, MA

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-4615-8701-9

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-4615-8699-9

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