A physician taps you just below the knee to check a reflex that is based on information from which kind of receptor?
A) a Golgi tendon organ
B) an oscillator
C) a muscle spindle
D) a vestibular organ

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

The reflex that is being checked by tapping below the knee is the knee-jerk reflex, which is based on information from muscle spindles. Muscle spindles are sensory receptors located within muscle fibers that detect changes in muscle length and are responsible for initiating the stretch reflex. When the tendon below the knee is tapped, it initiates a brief stretch in the quadriceps muscle, which activates the muscle spindles and triggers a reflex contraction of the muscle, causing the leg to kick. Therefore, the correct answer is C) a muscle spindle.

A Physician Taps You Just Below the Knee to Check