BIO MED TERM 2 EXTENDED

Question 1

AGONIST :

Answer 1

Prime mover (agonist) – the muscle that produces a
movement
E.g. biceps brachii is the prime mover for forearm
flexion

Question 2

ANTAGONIST

Answer 2

Antagonist – the muscle that reverses a movement
E.g. triceps brachii is the antagonist for forearm
flexion

Question 3

Synergist

Answer 3

a muscle that prevents unwanted movement or
helps the prime mover produce a movement.
E.g. Muscles of the fingers that allow to make a fist
without bending the wrist

Question 4

Fixator

Answer 4

– a muscle that immobilises a bone or helps
maintain posture.
E.g. the small muscles linking the vertebrae act as spine
stabilisers

Question 5

Endurance exercise

Answer 5

Aerobic exercise e.g. swimming, jogging, biking.
Increases number of blood capillaries, number of
mitochondria, amount of myoglobin.
Makes muscles more efficient and resistant to fatigue

Question 6

Resistance exercise

Answer 6

Anaerobic exercise e.g. weight lifting
Increases muscle size and strengt

Question 7

OXYGEN DEBT

Answer 7

After vigorous exercise, when muscles use anaerobic
mechanisms to produce energy, the creatine phosphate and
glycogen stores need to be replenished, lactic acid needs to
be reconverted to pyruvic acid, and a state of oxygen debt
is said to exist.

Oxygen debt is defined as the extra amount of oxygen that
the body must take in to restore the resting state of the
muscles.

Question 8

INSERTION AND ORIGEN

Answer 8

The insertion is the point where the muscle (effort) pulls on
the bone (lever arm)
The origin is the point where the muscle is attached to a
fixed bone

Question 9

Functions of the muscular system

Answer 9

Movement.
Maintain posture.
Generate heat.
Joint stabilisation

Question 10

Functional characteristic of muscle

Answer 10

Excitability or irritability
Ability of the muscle to respond to a stimulus.
2. Contractility
Ability of the muscle to shorten forcibly when
stimulated.
3. Extensibility
Ability of the muscle to be stretched or extended.
4. Elasticity
Ability of the muscle to return to its resting length
after it has stretched or extended

Question 11

motor unit

Answer 11

Each motor neuron supplies more than one muscle fibre /
cell.

A motor neuron and all muscle fibres (four to several
hundred) it supplies is called a motor unit.