Chapter 17 Flashcards
What are the general functions of skeletal muscle?
- movement
- heat production
- posture
What functional characteristics are unique to skeletal muscles?
- excitability
- contractility
- extensibility
What are the unique characteristics of muscle cells?
- sarcolemma
- sarcoplasm
- sarcoplasmic reticulum
- multinucleated
- many mitochondria
- t-tubules
- myofibrils
What is a t-tubule? Function?
- an inward extension of the sarcolemma
- conduct impulses from the surface of the sarcolemma
What is a triad? Purpose?
- the sarcoplasmic reticulum butting up on either side of the t tubule
- allows the electrical impulse traveling along at tubule to stimulate the membranes of adjacent sacs of sarcoplasmic reticulum
What is a sarcomere?
- segment of myofibril
- one group of contractile units
What are the different portions of a sarcomere?
- z discs
- a band
- i band
- h zone
- m line
What portions of a sarcomere change during contraction?
- h zone
- i band
What kinds of proteins make up a myofibril? Function? Where are they found?
- Contractile: myosin and actin
- Regulatory: tropomyosin and troponin
- Structural: titin and dystrophin
What is the general mechanism of contraction?
-myosin heads attach to and walk along the thin filaments at both ends of the sarcomere
How is contraction initiated?
- nerve impulses reach the end of a motor neuron
- ach stimulates receptors
- Ca+ is released and binds to troponin
- troponin causes tropomyosin to shift
What is the contraction cycle?
- ATP hydrolysis
- Formation of cross-bridges
- Power stroke
- Detachment of myosin from actin
What are the steps to relaxation?
- sarcoplasmic reticulum begins pumping Ca+ into sacs
- tropomyosin moves back into place
How does the muscle generate ATP while contracting?
- creatine phosphate
- anaerobic cellular respiration
- aerobic cellular respiration
What is muscle fatigue?
-inability of a muscle to maintain force of contraction after prolonged activity
What factors contribute to muscle fatigue?
- inadequate release of calcium ions
- insufficient amounts of ATP: depletion of creatine phosphate, oxygen, glycogen, and buildup of lactic acid and ADP
- failure of the motor neuron to release enough ACH
Why does heavy breathing occur after exercise?
- it restores muscle cells to their resting level
- convert lactic acid into glycogen
- used to synthesize creatine phosphate and ATP