Knee jerk reflex

Try this ! Sit on the edge of a table with your feet dangling. Give yourself a sharp tap with the side of your hand just below the kneecap as shown the following figure.

steve

knee

What happened to your leg when you gave it a tap?
What was the stimulus?
What was the response?

Did your leg jerk without you thinking about it?
The stimulus was the tap. The response was the jerk.
Try it again if it did not work. This kind of response is called a reflex.

Lesson 3 - Response and reproduction

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