Exam 3 Flashcards
what are the three types of muscle?
skelatal, cardiac, and smooth
What characteristics classify a skeletal muscle?
- striated
- voluntary
- require nervous system stimulation
What characteristics classify a cardiac muscle?
- only in heart
- striated
- can contract without nervous system stimulation
- involuntary
What characteristics classify a smooth muscle?
- in walls of hollow organs
- not striated
- involuntary
what are the functions of muscle?
- movement of bones/fluid
- maintaining posture
- heat generation
- protects organs, forms valves
- regulate elimination of materials
list the layers of skeletal muscle sheaths from external to internal
- epimysium
- perimysium
- endomysium
what is the epimysium?
dense irregular ct surrounding entire muscle
what is the perimysium?
fibrous ct surrounding fascicles
what is the endomysium?
fine areolar ct surrounding each muscle fiber
What are the 2 attachment points for bone?
- insertion (Moveable bone)
- origin (immovable bone)
How does direct attachment occur?
epimysium fused to periosteum of bone
what is indirect attachment
connective tissue wrappings extend beyond muscle at tendon or aponeurosis
What is the sarcolemma?
plasma membrane of a skeletal muscle fiber
what is the sarcoplasm?
cytoplasm of a skeletal muscle fiber
what are myofibrils?
- densely packed, rodlike parts of muscle fibers
- contains sarcomeres
- contains perfectly aligned repeating dark A band and light I bands
differentiate between H zone, M line, and Z disc
H zone: lighter region in midsection of A band where filaments don’t overlap
M line: line of protein myomesin bisects H zone
Z disc:coin shaped shet of proteins in midline of I band that anchors thin filaments and connects myofibrils
what is the smallest contractile unit of a muscle fiber?
sarcomere
what are sarcomeres composed of?
composed of thick and thin myofilaments made of contractile proteins
what is another name for thin filaments and what are their functions?
also called actin myofilaments, extend across I band and partway in A band, anchored to Z discs
what is another name for thick filaments and what are their functions?
also called myosin myofilaments, extend length of A band, connected at M line
what are thick filaments composed of?
the protein myosin, each composed of 2 heavy and 4 light polypeptide chains
What is the structure of a thin filament?
twisted double strand of fibrous protein F actin
What process does the sliding filament model of contraction describe
generation of force in muscles
According to the sliding filament model, where are the thick and thin filaments in a relaxed state?
overlap only at ends of A band
According to the sliding filament model, where are the thick and thin filaments during contraction?
the thin filaments slide past thick filaments, causing actin and myosin to overlap more
How do cross bridges form?
when myosin heads bind to actin
What must occur for a skeletal muscle to contract?
- an action potential must be generated in sarcolemma
- action potential must propagate along sarcolemma, briefly raising intracellular Ca2+ levels
what is a motor unit?
a motor neuron and all muscle fibers it supplies
What is the space between an axon ending and a single muscle fiber called?
neuromuscular junction
Where is the neuromuscular junction typically located on muscle fiber
situated midway along length of muscle fiber
what is the gel-filled space that separates the axon terminal and the muscle fiber
synaptic cleft
what neurotransmitter is found in synaptic vesicles?
acetylcholine (ACh)
Describe the events that occur at the neuromuscular junction
- nerve impulse arrives at axon terminal
- ACh released into synaptic cleft
- ACh diffuses across cleft and binds with receptors on sarcolemma
- action potential is generated
What are the three basic steps of action potential generation?
- end plate potential
- depolarization
- repolarization
What occurs during end plate potential (local depolarization)
- ACh binding opens chemically (ligand) gated ion channels
- simultaneous diffusion of Na+(in) and K+ (out)
- more Na+ diffuses in, reducing neg charge in sarcolemma
What occurs during depolarization
- end plate potential spreads to adjacent membrane areas
- voltage-gated NA+ channels open
- Na+ influx decreases membrane voltage toward critical voltage called threshold
- once threshold is reached, AP is initiated
What occurs during repolarization
- Na+ channels close and voltage-gated K+ channels open
- K+ outflow rapidly restores resting polarity
- muscle cannot be stimulated in refractory period until repolarization is complete
What is excitation-contraction coupling?
events that transmit AP along sarcolemma that lead to sliding of myofilaments
when does EC coupling occur?
during the latent period, the time between AP initiation and beginning of contraction
Describe the events of EC coupling
- AP propagated along sarcomere to T tubules
- voltage-sensitive proteins stimulate Ca2+ to release from SR
Describe what occurs at low intracellular Ca2+ concentration
- tropomyosin blocks active sites on actin
- myosin heads cannot attach to actin
- muscle fiber is relaxed
Describe what occurs at higher intracellular Ca2+ concentration
- Ca2+ binds to troponin
- troponin changes chape and moves tropomyosin away from myosin binding sites
- myosin heads bind to actin, causing sarcomere shortening and muscle contraction
- when nervous stimulation ceases, Ca2+ is pumped back into SR and contraction ends
What is Rigor mortis
- cross bridge detachment requires ATP
- 3-4 hours after death muscles begin to stiffen with weak rigidity
- at 12 hours post mortem, dying cells take in calcium forming cross bridges
- no ATP can be generated to break cross bridges
True or false, muscle cells have extensive amounts of ATP in storage
false, stored ATP is spent after about 5 seconds of intense exertion
what are the three ways to generate ATP in skeletal muscle fiber?
- immediate supply via phosphate transfer
- short term supply via glycolysis
- long term supply via aerobic cellular respiration