MECHANICAL TRANSDUCTION IN GOLGI TENDON ORGAN - HYPOTHESIS

  • 1 January 1975
    • journal article
    • research article
    • Vol. 113  (4) , 374-381
Abstract
Morphological evidence, gained from light and electron microscopy, showed that the unmyelinated terminal branches of the Ib afferent fiber innervating the Golgi tendon organ (GTO) lie within the spaces between braids of collagen. Force applied to a muscle''s tendon may straighten these collagen braids and cause compressional deformation of the axon branches trapped between them. The mechanical events, which are presumed to occur within the GTO, appeared to explain how it may function as a biological force transducer under static loading conditions. The mechanical principal described for the GTO may be a primitive and wide-spread biological mechanism employed by certain types of sensory receptors that function as position (and force) detectors.

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