All Topics  
Electric organ

 

 
   Email Print
   Bookmark   Link
 

 

Electric organ
 
 
  Topics Electric organ Topic Home

The electric organ is a muscular
MUSCLE

MUSCLE is public domain, multiple sequence alignment software for protein and nucleotide sequences.MUSCLE is integrated into UGENE bioinformatics tool as a plugin....
 organ common to all electric fish
Electric fish

An electric fish is a fish that can generate electric fields. It is said to be electrogenic; a fish that has the ability to detect electric fields is said to be electroreceptive....
 used for the purposes of creating an electric field
Electric field

In physics, the space surrounding an electric charge or in the presence of a time-varying magnetic field has a property called an electric field ....
; a behavior used for navigation, communication or even incapacitation of prey.

lectrocytes, electroplaques or electroplaxes are cells
Cell (biology)

The cell is the structural and functional unit of all known Life organisms. It is the smallest unit of an organism that is classified as living, and is often called the building bricks of life....
 used by ray
Electric ray

The electric rays are a group of batoid, flattened cartilaginous fish with enlarged pectoral fins, that comprise the order Torpediniformes....
s, electric eel
Electric eel

The electric eel, temblador Electrophorus electricus, is an electrical fish. It is capable of generating powerful electricity shocks, which it uses for both hunting and self-defense....
s and other electric fish
Electric fish

An electric fish is a fish that can generate electric fields. It is said to be electrogenic; a fish that has the ability to detect electric fields is said to be electroreceptive....
 for electrogenesis
Electrogenesis

Electrogenesis is the ability of an organism to generate electricity to serve as a predatory or defensive weapon. The order Gymnotiformes, commonly known as electric eels, detect or stun their prey by means of high voltages generated from modified muscle cells called electrocytes....
 and electroreception. They are flat disk-like cells that are positively charged on one side and negatively charged on the other.






Discussion
Ask a question about 'Electric organ'
Start a new discussion about 'Electric organ'
Answer questions from other users
Full Discussion Forum



Encyclopedia


The electric organ is a muscular
MUSCLE

MUSCLE is public domain, multiple sequence alignment software for protein and nucleotide sequences.MUSCLE is integrated into UGENE bioinformatics tool as a plugin....
 organ common to all electric fish
Electric fish

An electric fish is a fish that can generate electric fields. It is said to be electrogenic; a fish that has the ability to detect electric fields is said to be electroreceptive....
 used for the purposes of creating an electric field
Electric field

In physics, the space surrounding an electric charge or in the presence of a time-varying magnetic field has a property called an electric field ....
; a behavior used for navigation, communication or even incapacitation of prey.

Electrocytes

Electrocytes, electroplaques or electroplaxes are cells
Cell (biology)

The cell is the structural and functional unit of all known Life organisms. It is the smallest unit of an organism that is classified as living, and is often called the building bricks of life....
 used by ray
Electric ray

The electric rays are a group of batoid, flattened cartilaginous fish with enlarged pectoral fins, that comprise the order Torpediniformes....
s, electric eel
Electric eel

The electric eel, temblador Electrophorus electricus, is an electrical fish. It is capable of generating powerful electricity shocks, which it uses for both hunting and self-defense....
s and other electric fish
Electric fish

An electric fish is a fish that can generate electric fields. It is said to be electrogenic; a fish that has the ability to detect electric fields is said to be electroreceptive....
 for electrogenesis
Electrogenesis

Electrogenesis is the ability of an organism to generate electricity to serve as a predatory or defensive weapon. The order Gymnotiformes, commonly known as electric eels, detect or stun their prey by means of high voltages generated from modified muscle cells called electrocytes....
 and electroreception. They are flat disk-like cells that are positively charged on one side and negatively charged on the other. Electric eels have several thousand of these cells stacked, each producing 0.15V. The cells function by pumping positive sodium
Sodium

Sodium is an element which has the symbol Na , atomic number 11, atomic mass 23 amu , and a common oxidation number +1. Sodium is a soft, silvery white, highly reactive element and is a member of the alkali metals within "group 1" ....
 and potassium
Potassium

Potassium is a chemical element. It has the symbol K , atomic number 19, and atomic mass 39.0983. Potassium was first isolated from potash, hence the name....
 ions out of the cell via transport proteins powered by ATP
ATP

ATP may refer to:...
. Postsynaptically, electrocytes work much like muscle cells. They have nicotinic acetylcholine receptor
Nicotinic acetylcholine receptor

Nicotinic acetylcholine receptors, or nAChRs, are cholinergic receptors that form ligand-gated ion channels in the plasma membranes of certain neurons....
s. These cells are used in research because of their resemblance to nerve-muscle junctions.

Firing

To discharge the electrocytes at the correct time, the electric eel uses its pacemaker nucleus
Medullary command nucleus

The medullary command nucleus , also called the pacemaker nucleus, is a groups of nerve cells found in the bodies of weakly electric fish. It controls the function of electrocytes by regulating the frequency of Bioelectromagnetism....
, a nucleus
Nucleus (neuroanatomy)

In neuroanatomy, a nucleus is a brain structure consisting of a relatively compact cluster of neurons. It is one of the two most common forms of nerve cell organization, the other being layered structures such as the cerebral cortex or cerebellum....
 of pacemaker neuron
Medullary command nucleus

The medullary command nucleus , also called the pacemaker nucleus, is a groups of nerve cells found in the bodies of weakly electric fish. It controls the function of electrocytes by regulating the frequency of Bioelectromagnetism....
s. When an electric eel spots its prey, the pacemaker neurons fire and acetylcholine
Acetylcholine

The chemical compound acetylcholine is a neurotransmitter in both the peripheral nervous system and central nervous system in many organisms including homo sapiens....
 is subsequently released from electromotor neurons to the electrocytes, resulting in an electric organ discharge.

Location

In the electric Torpedo Ray, electroplaxes are found near the pectoral muscles and the gills. In most other fishes, they are found near the tail. In one fish genus, the electric catfish
Electric catfish

Electric catfish is the common name for the catfish family Malapteruridae. This family includes two genus, Malapterurus and Paradoxoglanis with 19 species....
 Malapterurus
Electric catfish

Electric catfish is the common name for the catfish family Malapteruridae. This family includes two genus, Malapterurus and Paradoxoglanis with 19 species....
, the electric organs are not made of individual electroplaxes, but are built up from charges of the epithelium
Epithelium

In biology and medicine, epithelium is a Biological tissue composed of cell s that line the cavities and surfaces of structures throughout the body....
, specifically the skin.

Electric Organ Discharge


Electric organ discharge (EOD) is the electric discharge generated by the organs of animals including electric fish. In some cases the electric discharge is strong and is used for protection from predators; in other cases it is weak and it is used for navigation and communication.