Almost every muscle contains muscle spindles. These delicate sensory receptors inform the central nervous system (CNS) about changes in the length of individual muscles and the speed of stretching. With this information, the CNS computes the position and movement of our extremities in space, which is a requirement for motor control, for maintaining posture and for a stable gait. Many neuromuscular diseases affect muscle spindle function contributing, among others, to an unstable gait, frequent falls and ataxic behavior in the affected patients. Nevertheless, muscle spindles are usually ignored during examination and analysis of muscle function and when designing therapeutic strategies for neuromuscular diseases. This review summarizes the development and function of muscle spindles and the changes observed under pathological conditions, in particular in the various forms of muscular dystrophies.

中文翻译：

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健康和患病肌肉中的肌梭功能

几乎每块肌肉都含有肌梭。这些微妙的感觉受体告知中枢神经系统 (CNS) 有关单个肌肉长度和拉伸速度的变化。有了这些信息，CNS 计算出我们四肢在空间中的位置和运动，这是运动控制、保持姿势和稳定步态的必要条件。许多神经肌肉疾病会影响肌梭功能，其中包括导致受影响患者步态不稳定、频繁跌倒和共济失调行为。然而，在检查和分析肌肉功能以及设计神经肌肉疾病的治疗策略时，通常会忽略肌梭。本综述总结了肌梭的发育和功能以及在病理条件下观察到的变化，