Artist drawing of three neuromuscular synapses. Two are shown in surface view; one is seen in side view (lower left). The pre-synaptic element of a neuromuscular synapse consists of a circumscribed cluster of terminal branches that collectively constitute an end plate. Each end plate is at the end of a branch of a motor neuron axon. The end plate is covered by lemmocytes (green nuclei). The post-synaptic element is a superficial spot on the skeletal muscle fiber, called a sole plate (brown).