GOLGI TENDON ORGAN

Definition
The Golgi tendon organ (GTO) (also called Golgi organ, tendon organ, neurotendinous
organ or neurotendinous spindle) is a proprioceptor – a type of sensory receptor that senses
changes in muscle tension.The Golgi tendon organ is a tree-like sensory ending enclosed , in a
spindle-like connective tissue capsule, it lies at the interface between a muscle and its tendon
known as the musculotendinous junction also known as the myotendinous junction.It provides
the sensory component of the Golgi tendon reflex.

Composition
In man, some 10 to 20 muscle fibres are connected to one tendon organ.
A typical tendon organ in limb muscles has an ending of about 0.5 mm in length. The
endings are supplied by Ib afferent fibres (thinner than Ia) of high conduction velocity.
The GTO are nearly as common in most muscles as muscle spindles.

In contrast to muscle spindles, the Golgi tendon organ lies in series with skeletal muscle
fibres and therefore discharges during passive stretching of the muscle as well as when the
tendon is stretched by the contraction of the muscle. Accordingly, the tendon organ is considered
to be a muscle tension receptor rather than a muscle stretch receptor.

Motor control
Two feedback systems (both involving muscle afferents) regulate force and muscle
length through reflexes. Muscle spindle afferents transduce (ie convert the message into another
form) muscle length, whereas GTO afferents transduce muscle force.
GTOs lie in series with the extrafusal fibers and receive no motor innervation.
They send force information to the spinal cord, where interneurons receive input from the brain
that specifies the amount of force that a muscle should produce.
If that muscle's force level exceeds this set point, the GTO inputs inhibit the alpha motor
neurons innervating that muscle, which lowers the force produced unless some other mechanism
cancels that signal.

Relexes
A reflex action mediated by the Golgi tendon organs that is called the inverse stretch
reflex. When the organs are stimulated by a prolonged stretch they cause the stretched muscle to
relax. This reflex, which connects high force in the Golgi tendon organs with relaxation, is the
opposite of the myotatic reflex (or stretch reflex), in which stretch elicits a reflex contraction. The
myotatic reflex is caused by a stretching in the muscle spindle.

Function
When people lift weights, the golgi tendon organ is the sense organ that tells how much
tension the muscle is exerting. If there is too much muscle tension the golgi tendon organ will
inhibit the muscle from creating any force (via a reflex arc), thus protecting the you from injuring
itself. This works in concert with the muscle spindles that monitor muscle length.
GTOs are sensitive to changes in tension and rate of tension and, because they are
located in the musculotendinous junctions, they are responsible for sending information to the
brain as soon as they sense an overload. Static stretching is one example of how muscle tension
signals a GTO response. When a low-force stretch is held for more than seven seconds, the
increase in muscle tension activates the GTO, which temporarily inhibits muscle spindle activity
(thus reducing tension in the muscle), and allows for further stretching.
Knowledge of GTOs and muscle spindles are important concepts in muscle stretches eg
in PNF and static stretching.

BAI Liu
8.10.2022