Term: secondary motor neuron axon guidance
Note: This page represents a term created by the combination ("post-composition") of two ontology terms. For more information on the individual terms, click the hyperlinked name.
Name: secondary motor neuron
Synonyms: secondary motoneuron
Definition: Motor neurons that develop several hours later than primary motoneurons and sprout axons several hours after the primary motor growth cones have extended to the periphery. They have smaller cell bodies and are located more ventrally and laterally in the spinal cord than primary motoneurons. Axons usually project directly out of the spinal cord with no apparent contact with the Mauthner axon and are positioned lateral to the Mauthner axon in their path to the ventral root. Secondary motoneurons have smaller fields, which can overlap one another, and innervate many fewer muscle fibers than primary motoneurons.
Ontology: Anatomy Ontology [ZFA:0009247]
Name: axon guidance
Synonyms: axon chemotaxis, axon growth cone guidance, axon pathfinding
Definition: The chemotaxis process that directs the migration of an axon growth cone to a specific target site in response to a combination of attractive and repulsive cues.
Ontology: GO: Biological Process [GO:0007411]    QuickGO    AmiGO