refractory period









refractory period


noun Physiology.

  1. a short period after a nerve or muscle cell fires during which the cell cannot respond to additional stimulation.

noun

  1. a period during which a nerve or muscle is incapable of responding to stimulation, esp immediately following a previous stimulation. In an absolute refractory period there is a total inability to respond; in an effective or relative refractory period there is a response to very large stimuli

n.

  1. The period that follows effective stimulation, during which excitable tissue fails to respond to a stimulus of threshold intensity.

  1. The period immediately following the transmission of an impulse in nerve or muscle, in which a neuron or muscle cell regains its ability to transmit another impulse. See more at action potential.
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