Chapter 6 Muscular System Flashcards
Skeletal and smooth muscle cells are _________.
Elongated
Contractions of muscles is due to the movement of ____________.
microfilaments
Skeletal muscle characteristics
Attached by tendons to bones
Cells are multinucleate
Striated- have visible banding
Voluntary- subject to conscious control
Sites of skeletal muscle attachments
Bones
Cartilages
Connective tissue coverings
Smooth muscle characteristics
Lack striations Spindle-shaped cells Single nucleus Involuntary- no conscious control Found mainly in the walls of hollow organs
Cardiac muscle characteristics
Striations Usually have a single nucleus Branching cells Joined to another muscle cell at an intercalated disc Involuntary Found only in the heart
Skeletal muscle functions
Produce movement
Maintain posture
Stabilize joints
Generate heat
Microscopic anatomy of a skeletal muscle:
Sarcolemma
Specialized plasma membrane
Microscopic anatomy of a skeletal muscle:
Myofibrils
Long organelles inside a muscle cell
Microscopic anatomy of skeletal muscle: sarcoplasmic reticulum
Specialized smooth endoplasmic reticulum
I band =
Light band
Contains only thin filaments
A band=
Dark band
Contains the entire length of the thick filaments
Microscopic anatomy of skeletal muscle:
Sacromere
Contractile unit of a muscle fiber
Microscopic anatomy of skeletal muscle
Organization of the sacromere
Myofilaments
- thick filaments = myosin filaments
- thin filaments= actin filaments
Microscopic anatomy of skeletal muscle
Thick filaments = myosin filaments
Composed of the protein myosin
Has ATPase enzymes
Myosin filaments have heads (extensions or cross bridges)
Myosin and actin overlap somewhat
Microscopic anatomy of skeletal muscle
Thin filaments = actin filaments
Composed of the protein actin
Anchored to the Z disc
Microscopic anatomy of skeletal muscle
At rest, there is a bare zone that lacks actin filaments called the _ ____.
H zone
Microscopic anatomy of skeletal muscle
Sarcoplasmic reticulum
Stores and releases calcium
Surrounds the myofibril
Skeletal muscles must be stimulated by a motor _________ (nerve cell) to contract.
Neuron
Motor unit
One motor neuron and all the skeletal muscle cells stimulated by that neuron.
Neuromuscular junction
Association site of axon terminal of the motor neuron and muscle
Synaptic Cleft
Gap between nerve and muscle
Nerve and muscle do not make contact
Area between nerve and muscle is filled with interstitial fluid
Neurotransmitter
Chemical released by nerve upon arrival of nerve impulse
The neurotransmitter for skeletal muscle is
Acetylcholine (ACh)