The altered electrical state or condition of a nerve or muscle tissue resulting from the application of electric current.
From electro- + Greek tonus (tension/tone). Term coined by 19th-century neurophysiologists studying nerve responses to electricity.
Early neuroscientists discovered that when they applied electrical current to a nerve, the area near the positive electrode (anode) became less excitable while the negative electrode (cathode) made it more excitable—this 'electrotonus' effect is how we map nerve function today.
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