Chapter 9- Muscles and muscle tissue Flashcards
Muscle fiber
Individual muscle cell that makes up a single muscle
Tension
Force exerted by a muscle when it contracts
Load
Opposing force exerted on a muscle by the weight of an object
Mys-, myo-, and sarco-
Muscle
Muscle functions (4)
- Movement- involuntary or voluntary (skeletal muscle)
- Body posture and body position
- Joint stability
- Maintaining body temperature
How does muscle maintain body posture/body position?
Muscles work to hold us up against gravity. This is mainly the responsibility of skeletal muscle. The most important regions are the muscles in the neck and the trunk muscles (abdominals, obliques, back muscles).
How do muscles contribute to joint stability?
Mostly skeletal muscle. Muscles and tendons reinforce joints, tendons wrap around a joint to brace it
How do muscles maintain body temperature?
Mostly the responsibility of skeletal muscle. Skeletal muscle involuntarily contracts (shivering) when blood temperature drops- muscle contraction produces heat
Muscle characteristics (4)
- Excitability
- Contractility
- Extensibility
- Elasticity
Excitability
Membrane potential changes in response to stimulus. Action potential changes the membrane potential of a muscle cell
Contractility
Muscle cells shorten and begin to bulge
Extensibility
Muscle cells can lengthen/stretch. Allows the muscle to stretch without snapping and breaking
Elasticity
Healthy muscle cells return to their original shape (resting length)
Types of muscle tissue (3)
- Skeletal muscle
- Smooth muscle
- Cardiac muscle
Which muscle is the strongest in the body?
The masseter muscle (jaw) is probably the strongest- generates 200 pounds of force at the molars
How is skeletal muscle adaptable?
You can decide how much force you want to generate with a muscle
Skeletal muscle tissue
Voluntary muscle tissue, purpose is movement of body parts- attaches to and uses skeleton. Striated and multinucleate. Creates the most force but needs the most rest- can only use it for a certain period of time until it fatigues and you have to rest
Smooth muscle tissue
Involuntary muscle tissue, purpose is to move fluid and substances through the body. No striations (stripes), relatively consistent color, uninucleate.
Where is smooth muscle tissue found?
Found in urinary organs, reproductive organs, blood vessels, etc
Cardiac muscle tissue
Involuntary muscle tissue that moves blood through the body. Striated and uninucleate- one fiber has one nucleus. Only found in the heart
What determines the rate of contraction of cardiac muscle tissue?
Rate of contraction set by pacemaker cells. Pacemaker cells depolarize spontaneously- do not need an action potential, they will depolarize randomly
Innervation of skeletal muscle tissue
Each muscle receives 1 nerve (motor). Motor neurons stimulate muscle fibers to contract. Some motor neurons innervate less than 10 fibers, others can serve hundreds of fibers
Nerve branches several times to supply muscle fibers in one muscle. One nerve can serve about 150 muscle fibers
What neurotransmitter are we most concerned with for skeletal muscle tissue?
We are only concerned with acetylcholine, which has a stimulatory effect (the muscle contracts).
Vascularization of skeletal muscle tissue
Each muscle receives 1 artery and 1 vein. Function- brings in nutrients, removes waste (from ATP production, lactic acid). Muscles get a lot of blood- need lots of nutrients to produce ATP