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
Function of skeletal muscle connective tissue sheaths
Function- supports muscle, holds muscle together. Fibrous and tough in nature. Supports fibers to keep them from ripping if they contract too much
Layers of skeletal muscle connective tissue sheaths (3)
- Endomysium- inner
- Perimysium
- Epimysium- outer
All 3 layers are continuous with each other and with the tendon attaching the muscle to the bone. They are all made of the same kind of connective tissue.
Endomysium
Innermost connective tissue layer. Surrounds individual muscle fibers- myofibrils make up muscle fibers
Perimysium
Middle layer of connective tissue. Discrete bundles of muscle fibers grouped together, form fascicles
Epimysium
Outermost layer of connective tissue. Surrounds entire muscle, composed of bundles of fascicles
Direct skeletal muscle attachments to bone
Epimysium of muscle fuses directly to bone or cartilage (there are no tendons)
Indirect skeletal muscle attachments to bone
Tendon connects muscle to bone or another muscle
Origin
Where muscle attaches to a less movable bone- this is always proximal. Ex- the origin of the long head of the biceps brachii is the lip of the glenoid fossa, for the short head, it’s the coracoid process. When contracting the biceps, the shoulder (origin) does not move at all.
Insertion
Where muscle attaches to a movable bone, this is always distal. For the biceps brachii, it’s the radial tuberosity
Sarcolemma
Plasma membrane of muscle fibers
Sarcoplasm
C ytoplasm of muscle fibers
Glycosomes
Store large amounts of glycogen- cell can convert to glucose for ATP production
Myoglobin
Red pigment that stores oxygen. Similar to hemoglobin, but oxygen is stored within a muscle fiber. This is beneficial so we have raw materials for ATP production and muscles can produce it quickly.
Myofibrils
Make up bulk of individual muscle fiber. Gives skeletal muscle its striated appearance. Composed of alternating A bands and I bands- go along the length of the entire myofibril
A band
Composed of myofilaments, contains H zone at center- bisected by M line
M line
M line is where the myofilaments are anchored in place
I band
Composed of myofilaments. Contains Z disc at center, only have actin filaments, no myosin
Sarcomere
Formed by A band and I bands- region between two successive Z discs. Importance- the sarcomere is the smallest contractile unit of skeletal muscle tissue. It is the functional unit of muscle tissue- if you take away any other part, muscle contraction would not occur
Myofilaments
Actin and myosin containing portion of sarcomere. Function- actin and myosin interact to allow muscle contraction.
Types of contractile myofilaments (2)
- Thick filament (myosin)
2. Thin filament (actin)
Molecular composition of myosin
Composed of grouping of 6 chains: 4 light chains and 2 heavy chains that twist together to form a tail. Myosin head found at the end of each heavy chain
Importance of myosin
Myosin head uses ATP to link thick and thin filaments during contraction
Actin filaments
Twisting chains of G actin with myosin binding sites. The depression in actin is where myosin binds (active site).
2 regulatory proteins of actin
- Tropomyosin
2. Troponin
Tropomyosin
Arranged along length of thin filament. Importance- block myosin binding sites when the muscle is relaxed
Troponin
Globular protein associated with tropomyosin. Importance- binds tropomyosin to position it on the filament
Importance of troponin and tropomyosin
These proteins prevent unnecessary interactions between the myofilaments
What 2 intracellular structures regulate muscle contraction?
- Sarcoplasmic reticulum
2. T-tubules
Sarcoplasmic reticulum
Smooth endoplasmic reticulum of muscle. Extends over the surface of the myofibrils, thickens twice (terminal cisterns). Highly branched, extends length of myofibril
Terminal cisterns
The two thickened regions of the sarcoplasmic reticulum, formed at the A band and I band junction.
Sarcoplasmic reticulum function
Stores and releases intracellular calcium for muscle relaxation and contraction
T-tubules
Tube that protrudes deep into the cell and runs between terminal cistern- forming triad. Continuous with the sarcolemma
Importance of T-tubules
Increase surface area of muscle fiber- changes in membrane potential penetrate deep in muscle fiber. Nerve impulse runs along sarcolemma- T-tubules “pass” information to deep parts of muscle
What type of neurons stimulate muscle tissue?
Motor neurons