The neuromuscular junction is the synapse between a motor neuron and a muscle fiber. As the motor neuron axon approaches the muscle, it divides into many terminal branches that lose their myelin sheath. Each axon terminal forms a special junction called the neuromuscular junction with one or more muscle fibers. When an action potential arrives at the presynaptic terminal, it causes voltage-gated calcium channels to open, allowing calcium to enter and trigger the release of the neurotransmitter acetylcholine into the synaptic cleft. The acetylcholine then travels across the cleft to the postsynaptic membrane of the muscle fiber, also known as the motor end plate.