Re"flex (r?"fl?ks), a. [L.
reflexus, p. p. of reflectere: cf. F.
réflexe. See Reflect.] 1.
Directed back; attended by reflection; retroactive;
introspective.
The reflex act of the soul, or the turning of
the intellectual eye inward upon its own actions.
Sir
M. Hale.
2. Produced in reaction, in resistance, or in
return.
3. (Physiol.) Of, pertaining to, or
produced by, stimulus or excitation without the necessary intervention
of consciousness.
Reflex action (Physiol.), any action
performed involuntarily in consequence of an impulse or impression
transmitted along afferent nerves to a nerve center, from which it is
reflected to an efferent nerve, and so calls into action certain
muscles, organs, or cells. -- Reflex nerve
(Physiol.), an excito-motory nerve. See Exito-
motory.
Re"flex (r?"fl?ks; formerly r?*fl?ks"),
n. [L. reflexus a bending back. See
Reflect.] 1. Reflection; the light
reflected from an illuminated surface to one in shade.
Yon gray is not the morning's eye,
'Tis but the pale reflex of Cynthia's brow.
Shak.
On the depths of death there swims
The reflex of a human face.
Tennyson.
2. (Physiol.) An involuntary movement
produced by reflex action.
Patellar reflex. See Knee jerk, under
Knee.
Re*flex" (r?*fl?ks"), v. t. [L.
reflexus, p. p. of reflectere. See Reflect.]
1. To reflect. [Obs.] Shak.
2. To bend back; to turn back. J.
Gregory.
