Chapter 9 Flashcards
Contractility
ability of muscle to shorten forcefully.
Excitability
the capacity of muscle to respond to a stimulus.
Extensibility
means a muscle can be stretched beyond its normal resting length and still be able to contract.
Elasticity
the ability of muscle to recoil to its original resting length after it has been stretched.
Skeletal muscle
responsible for locomotion, facial expressions, posture, respiratory functions, and many other body movements. The nervous system voluntarily, or consciously, controls the functions of the skeletal muscles.
Smooth muscle
most widely distributed type of muscle in the body. It is found in the walls of hollow organs and tubes, in the interior of the eye, and in the walls of blood vessels, among other areas. Not consciously controlled by the nervous system, controlled involuntarily, or unconsciously, by the endocrine and autonomic nervous systems
Cardiac muscle
ound only in the heart, and its contractions provide the major force for moving blood through the circulatory system; autorhythmic - they contract spontaneously at somewhat regular intervals, and nervous or hormonal
stimulation is not always required for them to contract; involuntary
skeletal muscle fibers
Each skeletal muscle is a complete organ consisting of these cells, associated with smaller amounts of connective tissue, blood vessels, and nerves.
muscle fasciculi
A muscle is composed of numerous visible bundles
perimyseum
Each fasciculus is surrounded by this other, heavier connective tissue layer
epimysium
The entire muscle is surrounded by this layer of connective tissue
Fascia
general term for connective tissue sheets within the body.
Muscular fascia (formerly deep fascia )
located superficial to the epimysium, separates and compartmentalizes individual muscles or groups of muscles. It consists of dense irregular collagenous
connective tissue.
Motor neurons
specialized nerve cells that stimulate muscles to contract.
striated
striped, appearance, as seen in longitudinal section, alternating light and dark bands
myoblasts
Muscle fibers develop from less mature, multinucleated cells
hypertrophy
Enlargement
sarcolemma
plasma membrane of a muscle fiber
two delicate connective tissue layers are located just outside the sarcolemma:
- external lamina: deeper and thinner of the two, consists mostly of reticular (collagen) fibers and is so thin that it
cannot be distinguished from the sarcolemma when viewed under a light microscope.
-endomysium: second layer also consists mostly of reticular fibers, but it is a much thicker layer
transverse tubules or T tubules
the many tubelike invaginations along the surface of the sarcolemma that appear at regular intervals along the muscle fiber and extend inward to it
sarcoplasmic reticulum
The T tubules are associated with this highly organized smooth endoplasmic reticulum
sarcoplasm
Other organelles, such as the numerous mitochondria and glycogen granules, are packed into the cell and constitute the cytoplasm, which in muscles is called the sarcoplasm
myofibrils
bundles of protein filaments found in the sarcoplasm; extends from one end of the muscle fiber to the other
A myofibril contains two kinds of protein filaments, called myofilaments:
- Actin myofilaments: thin myofilaments
- myosin myofilaments: thick myofilaments
sarcomeres
The actin and myosin myofilaments form highly ordered units called sarcomeres which are joined end to end to form the myofibrils
globular actin (G actin) monomers
Each F actin strand is a polymer of approximately 200 small, globular units called globuar actin (G actin) monomers; Each G actin monomer has an active site, to which myosin molecules can bind during muscle contraction.
myosin molecules
Myosin myofilaments are composed of many elongated myosin molecules shaped like golf clubs; consists of two myosin heavy chains wound together to form a rod portion lying parallel to the myosin myofilament and
two myosin heads that extend laterally
The myosin heads have three important properties:
- The heads can bind to active sites on the actin molecules to form cross-bridges
- the heads are attached to the rod portion by a hinge region that can bend and straighten during contraction
- the heads are ATPase enzymes, which break down ATP releasing energy.
Z disk
a filamentous network of protein forming a disklike structure for the attachment of actin myofilaments; Each sarcomere extends from one Z disk to an adjacent Z disk
isotropic band, or I band
includes a Z disk and extends from each side of the Z disk to the ends of the myosin myofilaments.
anisotropic band or A band
Each A band extends the length of the myosin myofilaments within a sarcomere.
H zone
A band is a smaller band called the H zone, where the actin and myosin myofilaments do not overlap and only myosin myofilaments are present.
M line
in the middle of the H zone and consists of delicate filaments that attach to the center of the myosin myofilaments; helps hold the myosin myofilaments in place, similar to the way the Z disk holds actin myofilaments in place
Titin
one of the largest known proteins; attaches to Z disks
and extends along myosin myofilaments to the M line. The myosin myofilaments are attached to the titin molecules, which help hold them in position. Part of the titin molecule in the I band functions as a spring, allowing the sarcomere to stretch and recoil.
sliding filament model
Actin and myosin myofilaments do not change length during contraction of skeletal muscle but, instead, slide past one another, causing the sarcomeres to shorten
action potentials
Electrical signals that travel from the brain or spinal cord along the axons to muscle fibers and cause them to contract.
polarized
The inside of most plasma membranes is negatively charged compared with the outside; therefore, the plasma membrane is polarized, meaning that a voltage difference, or electrical charge difference, exists across each plasma membrane.
resting membrane potential
This charge difference across the plasma membrane of an unstimulated cell
millivolts
The resting membrane potential can be measured in these units
two types of gated ion channels:
Ligand-gated ion channels and Voltage-gated ion channels.
ligand
molecule that binds to a receptor.
receptor
receptor is a protein or glycoprotein that has a receptor site to which a ligand can bind.
Ligand-gated ion channels
open when a ligand binds to a receptor that is part of the ion channel
neurotransmitters
the axons of neurons supplying skeletal muscle fibers
release these which bind to ligand-gated Na + channels in the membranes of the muscle fibers.
Voltage-gated ion channels
These channels are gated membrane channels that open and close in response to small voltage (charge) changes across the plasma membrane, or changes in the membrane potential.
threshold
If the depolarization changes the membrane potential to a value called threshold, an action potential is triggered.
depolarization phase
this phase of the action potential is a brief period during which further depolarization occurs and the inside of the cell becomes positively charged
repolarization phase
the return of the membrane potential to its resting value.
all-or-none principle
Action potentials occur according to this principle. If a stimulus is strong enough to produce a depolarization that
reaches threshold, or even if it exceeds threshold by a substantial amount, all of the permeability changes responsible for an action potential proceed without stopping. If stimulus is too weak weak that the depolarization does not reach threshold, few of the
permeability changes occur. The membrane potential returns to its resting level after a brief period without producing an action potential
propagate
Action potentials can travel, or propagate, across the plasma membrane because an action potential produced at one location in the plasma membrane can stimulate the production of an action potential in an adjacent location