Effectors can be either muscles or glands. Specifically:
- Muscles act as effectors by contracting in response to neural stimuli, producing movement or other motor responses. These include skeletal muscles (under voluntary control) and smooth muscles (involuntary control) such as those in blood vessels or the iris of the eye
- Glands act as effectors by producing and releasing secretions, such as hormones or saliva, in response to nerve impulses
Thus, effectors are tissues that respond to efferent nerve impulses by producing a specific action, either contraction (muscles) or secretion (glands)
