ICSE Class 10 Answered

Involuntary actions are those which are not the under the control of ones will or volition. Reflex actions are those which are sudden, fast and spontaneous reactions of the body. All reflex actions are involuntary in nature but all involuntary actions are not reflexes because-

• Beating of the heart is an involuntary action since it is not under the control of our will. However, it not a reflex action because beating is not sudden response. It is a continuous action carried out by the body. 
• Reflex actions are very quick but all involuntary actions may not be very fast as in heart beating. 
• Reflex action may involve any muscle or a gland as we withdraw our hand on touching a hot object but all involuntary actions involve only smooth i.e., involuntary or cardiac muscles. 
• Reflex actions are done to meet emergencies whereas an involuntary action may or may not be for just meeting an emergency but may be a critical lie process such as circulation of blood, swallowing of food and movement of food in food pipe. 
• Reflex action may be conditioned as in the case of salivation response by a dog on just hearing the bell (even when food is not supplied) in Pavlov's experiment. But an involuntary action would not be generally influenced by external conditioning. It is an inherited function of the body.