MSK - Muscle Physiology Flashcards
Describe skeletal muscle.
- Cylindrical
- Under voluntary control
- Multinucleated
- Striated
Involved in bone movement
Describe smooth muscle.
- Under involuntary control
- Mononucleated
- Non-striated
- Found in hollow organs
Involved in substance movement
Describe cardiac muscle
- Under involuntary control
- Mono/binucleated
- Striated
- Branched
Involved in pumping of blood
How are skeletal muscle fibres arranged?
- Muscle composed of groups of muscle fibres
- Fibres bundled into fascicles
- Within the fascicles are muscle fibres, within which are individual myofibrils
Describe muscle fibre cell structure. PART 1
- Cells wrapped in sarcolemma
- Invaginations in sarcolemma - T-Tubules descend into cells and wrap around myofibrils
- Tubules increase SA for ion transfer between ECF and ICF
Describe muscle fibre cell structure. PART 2
- SR wrapped around myofibrils - store of calcium ions
- Terminal cisternae at ends of SR
- Point where cisternae meets T-tubules is the triad
Describe myofibril structure.
- Striated due to intraccellular cytoskeletal proteins
- Made up of myosin and actin chains
- Myosin is also known as the heavy chain, while actin is known as the light chain. Where these bands cross is where a band appears.
- Functional units are sarcomeres
- Tropomyosin wrapped around actin chains with troponin on its surface
Action potential generated in muscle cell to contract skeletal muscle
What is the relationship between muscle fibres and motor neurons?
- Muscle fibre innervated by single motor neuron
- Motor neurons innervate multiple fibres
- In areas that require fine control, motor neuron will only innervate few muscle fibres.
- OPPOSITE FOR AREAS THAT DON’T NEED FINE CONTROL
Outline what occurs at the neuromuscular junction. PART 1
- Pre-synaptic terminals release ACh which bind to and cause opening of post-synaptic nAChRs
- Ion channels activate causing sodium influx and cause action potential
- Wave of depolarisation across sarcolemma due to action potential induced which reaches T-junction.
Outline what occurs at the neuromuscular junction. PART 2
- Wave of depolarisation reaches T-tubules
- Activates VGCCs allowing influx of extracellular calcium into cell
- Channels connected to RyRs on wall of SR
- When RyRs activated, conformational change in RyRs
- The SR is a reservoir for intracellular calcium and when the RyR is activated, calcium flows into the cell.
Outline what occurs at the neuromuscular junction. PART 3
- RyR activated and calcium flows into cell
- Rise in intracellular calcium and myofibrils contract
- Removal of calcium through SERCA2 (back into SR) and sodium-calcium exchanger (out of cell in exchange for sodium)
- Myofibrils relax
What happens in the cross bridge cycle? PART 1
- When relaxed, actin chains bound by troponin and tropomyosin. Prevent myosin binding
- Myosin bound by ADP, are ‘cocked’
- Calcium binds to troponin C following rise in intracellular calcium
- Myosin binding sites are exposed as troponin released
What happens in the cross bridge cycle? PART 2
- Myosin binds
- Conformational change causing movement of myosin head
- Causes movement of Z bands closer together
- ADP released from myosin and ATP binds causing release of myosin head from actin.
What happens in the cross bridge cycle? PART 3
- Reduction in intracellular calcium. Troponin reinstated and binding sites blocked
- ATP hydrolysed back to ATP
- Myosin head moved back into cocked position
Why does rigor mortis occur?
- Rise in intracellular calcium
- Actin binding sites exposed
- Myosin binds
- No ATP available to remove myosin heads from actin binding sites
- Continuous contraction