motor end-plate

anatomy

Also known as: end plate

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July 1, 2026

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The motor end-plate is the specialized region of a muscle cell membrane where a nerve fiber connects, forming a neuromuscular junction. This junction is crucial for chemical communication between the nervous system and muscles, enabling muscle contraction.123

When a nerve impulse reaches the nerve terminal, it triggers the release of the neurotransmitter acetylcholine. Acetylcholine then binds to receptors on the motor end-plate, opening ion channels and allowing sodium ions to flow into the muscle cell. This influx initiates an end-plate potential, an electrical event that, if it reaches a critical threshold, triggers an action potential and causes the muscle fiber to contract. The motor end-plate is a complex, branching structure of the axon terminal that contacts the muscle fiber.1345

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nervous system disease
Motor end plate
Where fatigue and weakness are the symptoms, the underlying cause of disease may be a failure of motor nerve impulses to cross to the muscle end plate at the neuromuscular junction.
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Where fatigue and weakness are the symptoms, the underlying cause of disease may be a failure of motor nerve impulses to cross to the muscle end plate at the neuromuscular junction.
Read More

nervous system
Axon
This receptor, called the end plate, is a glycoprotein composed of five subunits. Other neurotransmitter receptors do not have the same structure, but they are all proteins and probably have subunits with a central channel that is activated by the neurotransmitter.
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This receptor, called the end plate, is a glycoprotein composed of five subunits. Other neurotransmitter receptors do not have the same structure, but they are all proteins and probably have subunits with a central channel that is activated by the neurotransmitter.
Read More