Anatomy and Phisiology 6.2 Vocab

Question 1

Action potential

Answer 1

Nerve impulse caused by a wave of depolarization along the length of a neuron

Question 2

Autonomic reflexes

Answer 2

Involuntary stimuli transmitted to cardiac and smooth muscle

Question 3

Conductivity

Answer 3

The ability of a neuron to transmit a nerve impulse

Question 4

Depolarized

Answer 4

A condition in which the inside of a cell membrane is more positively charged than the outside

Question 5

Polarized

Answer 5

A condition that occurs when the inside of a cell membrane is more negatively charged than the outside

Question 6

Reflexes

Answer 6

Simple, rapid, involuntary, programmed responses to stimuli

Question 7

Refractory period

Answer 7

The time between the completion of the action potential and repolarization

Question 8

Saltatory conduction

Answer 8

The rapid skipping of an action potential from node to node on myelinated neurons

Question 9

Sodium-potassium pump

Answer 9

A pumping mechanism powered by ATP molecules that actively transports potassium and sodium ions into and out of the cell, respectively, against their gradients in order to accomplish repolarization of the cell

Question 10

Somatic reflexes

Answer 10

Involuntary stimuli transmitted to skeletal muscles from neural arcs in the spinal cord

Question 11

Repolarization

Answer 11

The reestablishment of a polarized state in a cell after depolarization