Free Reflexes and the Reflex Arc MCQs with Answers

• A. effector, motor neurone, spinal cord, sensory neurone, receptor
• B. receptor, motor neurone, spinal cord, sensory neurone, effector
• C. receptor, sensory neurone, interneurone in the spinal cord, motor neurone, effector
• D. sensory neurone, receptor, effector, motor neurone, spinal cord

Explanation: The stimulus is detected by the receptor, carried into the spinal cord by the sensory neurone through the dorsal root, passed to a relay…

• A. the impulses travel through the cerebrum first
• B. only one neurone is involved in the whole pathway
• C. hormones carry the message directly to the muscle
• D. the response is organised in the spinal cord without waiting for the brain

Explanation: The reflex arc is completed at spinal level, so the muscle contracts before the impulses climbing to the brain arrive and the pain is…

• A. lies on the inside and the white matter surrounds it
• B. lies on the outside and the white matter is central
• C. is entirely absent
• D. contains only myelinated fibres

Explanation: The butterfly shaped core of grey matter contains the cell bodies and synapses, while the outer white matter is made of myelinated axons…

• A. Receptor
• B. Effector
• C. Muscle fiber
• D. Associative neuron

Explanation: The associative or relay neurone sits in the grey matter of the spinal cord and passes the impulse straight from the sensory to the motor…

• A. Receptors to CNS to Effectors
• B. Effectors to Receptors to CNS
• C. CNS to Effectors to Receptors
• D. Effectors to CNS to Receptors

Explanation: A receptor detects the stimulus, a sensory neurone carries the impulse into the central nervous system, and a motor neurone carries the…

• A. Motor neurons
• B. Sensory neurons
• C. Interneurons
• D. Afferent neurons

Explanation: Motor, or efferent, neurones carry impulses away from the central nervous system to the effector, which in this case is a muscle that…

• A. Brain
• B. Spinal cord
• C. Hypothalamus
• D. none of these.

Explanation: Most reflex actions below the neck are integrated through reflex arcs in the spinal cord, allowing rapid responses without waiting for…

• A. Pupil reflex
• B. Knee-jerk stretch reflex
• C. Foot withdrawal by painful stimulation
• D. Hand withdrawal when touched by a hot object

Explanation: The knee-jerk stretch reflex is the correct answer because it is a monosynaptic reflex, where the sensory neuron directly communicates…

• A. Brain
• B. Spinal cord
• C. Hypothalamus
• D. Pituitary

Explanation: The spinal cord serves as the primary center for coordinating reflex actions.

• A. B
• B. C
• C. D
• D. A

Explanation: Reflex arc refers to the pathway through which a reflex travels from the site of stimulus to sensory neuron to motor neuron to reflex…

• A. Blinking of eyelids in bright light
• B. Pulling hand away from hot object
• C. Sneezing on tickling nose
• D. Picking pen to write name

Explanation: Reflex actions are involuntary responses to stimuli that occur rapidly and without conscious thought.

• A. Monosynaptic reflex arc
• B. Disynaptic reflex arc
• C. Polysynaptic reflex arc
• D. Asynaptic reflex arc

Explanation: Monosynaptic reflex arc has only two neurons, i.e. sensory and motor which form one synapse.

• A. Reflex arc
• B. Sensory pathway
• C. Motor pathway
• D. Somatosensory pathway

Explanation: A reflex, is an involuntary and nearly instantaneous movement in response to a stimulus.A reflex arc is a neural pathway that controls a…

• A. Rat
• B. Dog
• C. Goose
• D. Chimpanzee

Explanation: Ivan Pavlov, a Russian physiologist, used dogs as experimental animals to study conditioned reflexes.

• A. Sensory nerve
• B. Motor nerve
• C. Autonomic response
• D. Sympathetic nerve

Explanation: A is correct because in a reflex action, a sensory nerve is responsible for detecting a stimulus (such as heat, pain, etc.) and…