nerve impulse
American Heritage Dictionary:
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nerve impulse
n.
A wave of physical and chemical excitation along a nerve fiber in response to a stimulus, accompanied by a transient change in electric potential in the membrane of the fiber.
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nerve impulse
Oxford Companion to the Body:
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nerve impulses
Nerve impulses are electrical signals, known technically as action potentials, which transmit information along nerve fibres.
See action potentials.
Oxford Dictionary of Sports Science & Medicine:
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nerve impulse
The electrical signal conducted along a neurone. It is the means by which information is transmitted in the nervous system from one neurone to another, or from a neurone to an effector organ (e.g. a group of muscle fibres). A nerve impulse takes the form of a wave of depolarisation, which passes along a nerve fibre. During its passage, the resting potential of the neurone is reversed and becomes an action potential. A nerve impulse in a single neurone obeys the all-or-none law.
American Heritage Stedman's Medical Dictionary:
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nerve impulse
n.
A wave of physical and chemical excitation that moves along a nerve fiber in response to a stimulus.
Mosby's Dental Dictionary:
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nerve impulse
n
A wave of excitation along a nerve fiber initiated by a stimulus; accompanied by chemical and electrical changes at the surface of the nerve fiber and followed by a transient refractory period during which further stimulation has no effect.
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Copyrights:
American Heritage Dictionary
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2007, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2009. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Oxford Companion to the Body
The Oxford Companion to the Body. Copyright © 2001, 2003 by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved.
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Oxford Dictionary of Sports Science & Medicine
The Oxford Dictionary of Sports Science & Medicine. Copyright © Michael Kent 1998, 2006, 2007. All rights reserved.
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American Heritage Stedman's Medical Dictionary
The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
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