Difference Between Muscle Spindle and Golgi Tendon Organ

The key difference between muscle spindle and Golgi tendon organ is that muscle spindle is a sensory organ that senses the changes in muscle length and the rate of lengthening, while Golgi tendon organ is a sensory organ that senses the changes in muscle tension.

Muscle spindle and Golgi tendon organ (GTO) are two types of sensory organs present in the muscle–tendon unit. Muscle spindle senses the change in the length of the muscle as well as the speed of lengthening of the muscle. In contrast, GTO senses excessive tension of the muscle and inhibits muscle activation in order to decreases the tension of muscle and tendons. Autogenic and reciprocal inhibition are two types of reflex relaxations that protect muscles from damages and injuries. Muscle spindle is involved in reciprocal inhibition while GTO is involved in autogenic inhibition.

CONTENTS

1. Overview and Key Difference
2. What is Muscle Spindle
3. What is Golgi Tendon Organ
4. Similarities Between Muscle Spindle and Golgi Tendon Organ
5. Side by Side Comparison – Muscle Spindle vs Golgi Tendon Organ in Tabular Form
6. Summary

What is Muscle Spindle?

The muscle spindle is a small, spindle-shaped sensory organ located in the skeletal muscle tissue. In the muscle, muscle spindles run parallel with the main muscle fibers. A muscle spindle contains several differentiated muscle fibers that are enclosed in a spindle-shaped connective tissue sac.

Muscle spindles are sensitive to muscle lengthening and the rate of lengthening. Therefore, they can sense the change in muscle length and how fast the lengthening takes place. Moreover, muscle spindles are involved in stretch reflex and reciprocal inhibition.

What is Golgi Tendon Organ?

Golgi tendon organ is a sensory organ found in the muscle-tendon unit. It mainly senses the changes in muscle tension. Therefore, when a muscle faces too much of tension, Golgi tendon organ senses it before it undergoes any damage and inhibits the muscle activation in order to decreases the tension of muscle and tendons.

Besides, this action is called autogenic inhibition and it is a protective function of Golgi tendon organ. Furthermore, the Golgi tendon organ is composed of braided strands of collagen which are encapsulated.

What are the Similarities Between Muscle Spindle and Golgi Tendon Organ?

• Muscle spindle and Golgi tendon organ work together in a muscle.
• Both are sensory organs.
• They help to protect muscle form damages or injuries.

What is the Difference Between Muscle Spindle and Golgi Tendon Organ?

The muscle spindle is a small spindle-shaped sensory organ that senses the changes in the length of the muscle and the rate of lengthening, while Golgi tendon organ is a sensory organ in the muscle-tendon unit that senses the changes in the muscle tension. So, this is the key difference between muscle spindle and Golgi tendon organ. Besides, muscle spindle consists of intrafusal muscle fibers enclosed in a sheath (spindle), while Golgi tendon organ consists of braided strands of collagen which are encapsulated.

Moreover, stretch reflex and reciprocal inhibition are the protective functions of muscle spindles, while autogenic inhibition is the protective function that is done by the Golgi tendon organ.

Summary – Muscle Spindle vs Golgi Tendon Organ

Muscle spindle and Golgi tendon organ are two sensory organs present in the muscle-tendon unit. Muscle spindle is sensitive to the rate at which a muscle stretches and the extent to which the muscle is stretched. On the other hand, Golgi tendon organ is sensitive to the changes in muscle tension. Thus, this is the key difference between muscle spindle and Golgi tendon organ. Moreover, muscle spindle is involved in reciprocal inhibition while Golgi tendon organ is involved in autogenic inhibition.

Reference:

1.“Muscle Spindle.” Muscle Spindle – an Overview | ScienceDirect Topics, Available here.
2.“Golgi Tendon Organ.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 4 Feb. 2020, Available here.

Image Courtesy:

1. “Muscle spindle model” By Neuromechanics – Own work (Public Domain) via Commons Wikimedia
2. “Gray938” By Henry Vandyke Carter – Henry Gray (1918) Anatomy of the Human Body (See “Book” section below)Bartleby.com: Gray’s Anatomy, Plate 938 (Public Domain) via Commons Wikimedia