Intrafusal muscle fibers are skeletal
muscle fibers that serve as specialized sensory organs (
proprioceptors) that detect the amount and rate of change in length of a muscle. They constitute the
muscle spindle and are innervated by two axons, one sensory and one motor. Intrafusal muscle fibers are walled off from the rest of the muscle by a
collagen sheath. This sheath has a spindle or "fusiform" shape, hence the name "intrafusal."