THE MUSCULAR SYSTEM  Cells are surrounded and bundled  Arranged in two sheets or layers

by connective tissue. Cardiac Muscle Characteristics

 Muscles are responsible for all Connective Tissue Wrappings of Skeletal  Has striations
types of body movement. Muscle  Usually has a single nucleus
 Joined to another muscle cell at an
 Endomysium - connective tissue intercalated disc
Three basic muscle types are found in the
around single muscle fiber  Involuntary
body
 Perimysium - around a fascicle  Found only in the heart.
1. Skeletal Muscles
(bundle) of fibers.
2. Cardiac Muscle
 Epimysium - covers the entire Function of Muscles
3. Smooth
skeletal muscle. 1. Produce movement
 Fascia - on the outside of the 2. Maintain posture
CHARACTERISTICS OF MUSCLES
epimysium. 3. Stabilize joints
Muscle cells are elongated (muscle cell
4. Generate heat
= muscle fiber)
Skeletal Muscle Attachments
 Epimysium blends into a Microscopic Anatomy of Skeletal Muscle
Contraction of muscles is due to the
connective tissue attachment. 1. Cells are multinucleate
movement of myofilaments - the muscle
1. Tendon - cord-like structure. 2. Nuclei are just beneath the
cell equivalent of the microfilaments of
2. Aponeuroses - sheet-like sarcolemma - plasma membrane.
cytoskeletons
structure. 3. Sarcolemma - specialized plasma
membrane.
All muscles share some terminology
4. Sarcoplasmic reticulum -
 Prefix myo refers to muscle
 Sites of muscle attachment specialized smooth endoplasmic
 Prefix mys refers to muscle
1. Bones reticulum.
 Prefix sarco refers to flesh
2. Cartilages 5. Myofibril 
3. Connective tissue coverings  Bundles of myofilaments
Skeletal Muscle Characteristics  Myofibrils are aligned to give
 Most are attached by tendons to distinct bands
Smooth Muscle Characteristics
bones.  L band = light band
 Has no striations
 Cells are multinucleated and cigar-  A band = dark band
 Spindle-shaped cells
shaped. 6. Sarcomere
 Single nucleus
 Striated - have visible banding.  Contractile unit of a muscle fiber
 Involuntary  - no conscious control
 Voluntary - subject to conscious
 Found mainly in the walls of
control.
hollow organs - visceral
  Organization of the sarcomere;   This continued action causes a
Thick filaments = myosin filaments Transmission of Nerve Impulse to Muscle sliding of the myosin along the
Composed of the protein myosin.  Neurotransmitter - chemical action.
Has ATPase enzymes released by nerve upon arrival of  The result is that the muscle is
7. Myosin filaments have heads nerve impulse. shortened (contracted)
(extensions, or cross bridges)  The Neurotransmitter for skeletal  Calcium ions are required for the
8. Myosin and actin overlap muscle acetylcholine (ACh) attachment of myosin cross
somewhat  Neurotransmitter attaches to bridges to actin.
9. At rest, there is a bare zone that receptors on the sarcolemma.
lacks actin filaments - the H zone  Sarcolemma becomes temporarily Contraction of a Skeletal Muscle
10. Sarcoplasmic reticulum (SR) - for permeable to sodium (Na+) that  Muscle fiber contraction is “all or
storage of calcium. rushes into the ell giving it a none”
positive charge.  Within a skeletal muscle, not all
Properties of Skeletal Muscle Activity  Sodium rushing into the cell fibers may be stimulated during
 Irritability - ability to receive and generates an action potential. the same interval
respond to a stimulus.  Once started, muscle contraction  Different combinations of muscle
 Contractility - ability to shorten cannot be stopped fiber contraction may give
when an adequate stimulus is  To return to resting state; differing responses
received.   Potassium ions (K+) diffuse out of  Graded responses - different
the cell. degrees of skeletal muscle
Nerve Stimulus to Muscles  Sodium-potassium pump pumps shortening
 Skeletal muscles must be sodium and potassium back to 1. Changing frequency of stimulation
stimulated by a nerve to contract. their original positions. 2. Changing number of muscles cells
 Motor unit stimulated
1. One neuron The Sliding Filament Theory of Muscle
2. Muscle cells stimulated by that Contraction
neuron  Activation by nerve causes myosin Types of Graded Responses
 Neuromuscular junctions - heads (cross bridge) to attach to  Twitch
association site of nerve and binding sites on the thin filament. 1. Single, brief jerky contraction
muscle.  Myosin heads then bind to the 2. Not a normal muscle function
 Nerve and muscle do not make next site of the thin filament when  Tetanus (summing of
contact ATP is present contractions)
 Area between nerve and muscle is 1. One contraction is immediately
filled with interstitial fluid followed by another
 2. The muscle does not completely 2. CP is a high-energy molecule  The common reasons for muscle
return to a resting state 3. After ATP is depleted, ADP is left fatigue is oxygen debt
3. The effects are added 4. CP transfers energy to ADP, to 1. Oxygen must be “repaid” to tissue
 Unfused (incomplete) tetanus regenerate ATP to remove oxygen debt
1. Some relaxation occurs between 5. CP supplies are exhausted in about 2. Oxygen is required to get rid of
contractions 20 seconds accumulated lactic acid.
2. The results are summed  Aerobic Respiration  Increasing acidity (from lactic acid)
 Fused (complete) tetanus 1. Series of metabolic pathways that and lack of ATP causes the muscle
1. No evidence of relaxation before occurs in the mitochondria  to contract less
the following contractions 2. Glucose is broken down to carbon
2. The results is a sustained muscle dioxide and water, releasing Types of Muscle Contractions
contraction energy
3. This is a slower reaction that  Isotonic contractions - “same
Muscle Response to Strong Stimuli requires continuous oxygen., tone” or tension
 Muscle force depends upon the  Anaerobic Glycolysis 1. Myofilaments are able to slide
number of fibers stimulated 1. Reaction that breaks down past each other during
 More fibers contracting results in glucose without oxygen contractions
greater muscle tension 2. Glucose is broken down to pyruvic 2. The muscle shortens
 Muscles can continue to contract acid to produce some ATP  Isometric contractions - “same
unless they run out of energy 3. Pyruvic acid is converted to lactic measurement” or length
acid 1. Tension in the muscles increases
Energy for Muscle Contraction  Anaerobic glycolysis (continued) 2. The muscle is unable to shorten
 Initially, muscles used stored ATP 1. This reaction is not as efficient, but
for energy. is fast MUSCLE TONE
1. Bonds of ATP are broken to 2. Huge amounts of glucose are  Some fibers are contracted even in
release energy needed a relaxed muscle
2. Only 4-6 seconds worth of ATP is 3. Lactic acid produces muscle  Different fibers contract at
stored by muscles fatigue different time to provide muscle
 After this initial time, other tone
pathways must be utilized to Muscle Fatigue and Oxygen Debt  The process of stimulating various
produce ATP  When a muscle is fatigued, it is fibers in under involuntary control
 Direct phosphorylation unable to contract even when
1. Only muscle cells contain creatine stimulated EFFECTS OF EXERCISE ON MUSCLE
phosphate (CP)  Results on increase muscle use;
 1. Increase in muscle size  Supination - hand facing upward  Example: biceps, triceps,
2. Increase in muscle strength   Pronation - hand facing downward quadriceps (two, three or four
3. Increase in muscle efficiency  Opposition - touching thumb to origins or heads)
4. Muscle becomes more fatigue other finger  Location of the muscle’s origin and
resistant. insertion
TYPES OF MUSCLES  Example: sterno (in the sternum),
MUSCLES AND BODY MOVEMENTS  Prime mover - muscle with the cleido (clavicle), mastoid (on the
 Movement is attained due to a major responsibility for a certain mastoid process)
muscle moving attached bone movement.  Shape of the muscle
 Muscles are attached to at least  Antagonist - muscle that opposes  Example: Deltoid (Triangular)
two points or reverses a prime mover.  Action of the muscle
1. Origin - attachment to an  Synergist - muscle that aids a  Example: flexor and extensor
immovable bone. prime mover in the same (flexes or extends a bone)
2. Insertion - attachment to a movement and helps prevent
movable bone. rotation or unwanted movement.
 Fixator - stabilizes the origin of a
TYPES OF ORDINARY BODY MOVEMENTS prime mover so all tension can be
 Flexion - brings 2 bones together. used to move the insertion bone.
 Extension - increases distance
between 2 bones NAMING OF SKELETAL MUSCLES
 Rotation  Direction of muscle fibers
 Abduction - moving a limb away  Example: rectus (straight) and
from the midline of the body oblique (slanted)
 Adduction - moving a limb toward  Relative size of the muscle.
the midline  Example: maximus (largest),
 Circumduction - combination of all minimus (smallest), longus (long)
of the above except rotation.  Location of the muscle
 Example: many muscles are
SPECIAL MOVEMENTS named for bones  (e.g.,
 Dorsiflexion - lifting the foot temporalis, which is near the
 Plantar flexion - depressing the temporal bone)
foot  Number of origins
 Inversion - turn foot inward
 Eversion - turn foot outward