Golgi, Camillo
(gol'jē 
)
Italian pathologist, 1843–1926.
G. apparatus A lamellar membranous organelle in almost all cells, best viewed by electron microscopy. It consists of curved parallel series of flattened sacs that are often expand ed at their ends. In secretory cells, the apparatus concentrates and packages the secretory product. Its function in other cells, although apparently important, is poorly understood. SYN: Golgi complex.
G. cell A multipolar nerve cell in the cerebral cortex and posterior horns of the spinal cord. Type I possesses long axons; type II, short axons. SYN: Golgi neuron.
ABBR: GTO
A spindle-shaped structure at the junction of a muscle and a tendon. It functions as part of a feedback system that senses muscle tension through tendon stretch, inhibits muscle contraction of the agonist, and facilitates contraction of the antagonistic muscle. The purpose of this mechanism (autogenic facilitation) is to prevent overuse of and damage to the muscle and corresponding joint.SEE: autogenic facilitation.