refractory period n the brief period immediately following the response esp. of a muscle or nerve before it recovers the capacity to make a second response called also refractory phase see ABSOLUTE REFRACTORY PERIOD, RELATIVE REFRACTORY PERIOD
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(in neurology) the time of recovery needed for a nerve cell that has just transmitted a nerve impulse or for a muscle fibre that has just contracted. During the refractory period a normal stimulus will not bring about excitation of the cell, which is undergoing repolarization.
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the period of depolarization of the cell membrane after excitation, during which the nerve or muscle fiber cannot respond to a second stimulus. See also absolute refractory p. and relative refractory p.Medical dictionary. 2011.