Module 9 - Muscle Physiology Flashcards
What are the 3 types of muscle?
Skeletal, cardiac, and smooth
What does contraction of muscles allow the body to do?
Purposeful movement
Manipulation of external objects
Propulsion of contents through hollow internal organs
Emptying the contents of certain organs to the external environment
What are the 2 different ways that muscles can be categorized?
Striated - skeletal and cardiac muscle
Unstriated - smooth muscle
Voluntary - skeletal muscle
Involuntary - cardiac and smooth muscle
Where in the body is cardiac muscle found?
Only in the heart
What muscles make up the muscular system?
Skeletal muscle
What muscle appears throughout the body systems as components of hollow organs and tubes?
Smooth muscle
Describe the size and shape of a single muscle fiber
Relatively large, elongated, and cylinder shaped, measuring about 10-100 micrometers in diameter and up to 0.76 m long
What is another term for a single skeletal muscle cell?
Muscle fibre
Why do muscle fibers have multiple nuclei?
• Made from the fusion of a hundred or more small mesodermal cells called myoblasts, this results in myocytes having an equal number of nuclei
What do skeletal muscle fibers have many of as compared to other cells in the body?
nuclei and mitochondria
What is the contractile element of skeletal muscle?
Myofibrils
What are myofibrils?
- Contractile elements of skeletal muscles
- About 2 µm in diameter and extend the entire length of the muscle fiber
- Have striations that give skeletal muscle its striped appearance
What are filaments?
- Small protein structures located within the myofibrils
- Directly involved in contractile process
- 2 thin filaments for every thick filament, and they overlap
Describe thin filaments
- About 8 nm in diameter and 1-2 µm long
* Composed mostly of the protein actin
Describe thick filaments
- About 16 nm in diameter and 1-2 µm long
* Composed mostly of the protein myosin
Describe the level of organization of a skeletal muscle
Whole muscle -> muscle fiber -> myofibril -> thick and thin filaments -> myosin and actin
What is a bundle of muscle fiber bundle covered by a layer of perimysium called?
Muscle fascicle
Describe the connective tissue covering the muscle fibers together. How do these connect the muscles to bone? What is their main function?
• 3 connective tissues that form a continuous interconnected network
o Endomysium (inner layer), perimysium, epimysium (outer)
• At both ends of the muscles, the connective tissues become the tendons
• The tendons are continuous with the periosteum and deeper collage fibers enter the bone to blend with the collagen of the bone extracellular matrix
• This continuous run of connective tissue is what makes muscles so strong
• Provides tension for stabilization and/or movement
Describe the endomysium
- Thin wrapping of mostly reticular fiber surrounding each muscle fiber
- Helps bind muscle tissues together while allowing them to move over each other
- Carries small blood vessels to provide muscle fibers with nutrients
Describe the perimysium
• Dense irregular connective tissue covering the muscle fascicles
o Mostly collagen with some elastin
• Allows for some degree of motion between neighboring muscle fascicles
• Transmits blood vessels
Describe the epimysium
• Thicker covering of dense irregular connective tissue that covers the periphery of the muscle
o Mostly collagen with some elastin
• Binds all muscle fascicles together to form the muscle body
What does the myofibrils of a muscle fiber look like under an electron microscope?
Alternating dark bands (A bands) and light bands (I bands)
Bands line up parallel to one another to produce the striated or striped appearance of skeletal muscle
What is a functional unit?
The smallest component that can perform all the functions of the organ
How does a muscle fiber grow in length as a person grows?
By adding new sarcomeres on the ends of the myofibrils; the same works for increasing flexibility :)