Muscle Flashcards
What is the function of muscle?
To generate force and movement.
What can muscle function allow?
Expression and regulation- characterises people, regulates body functions, internal and external protection.
What are the 3 types of muscle?
Skeletal
Cardiac
Smooth
What does skeletal muscle allow?
Voluntary movement- controls body movement.
What does cardiac muscle allow?
Flow of blood through circulatory system.
What does smooth muscle allow?
Involuntary movement- influences movement of substances in body.
Is muscle excitable?
Yes- it can be electrically stimulated.
How is skeletal muscle characterised?
Large
Multinucleate
Striated
How is cardiac muscle characterised?
Smaller
Striated
Branched
Uninucleate
How is smooth muscle characterised?
Small
No striations
Uninucleate
What types of muscle are striated?
Skeletal
Cardiac
What type of muscle is not striated?
Smooth.
What type of muscle is multinucleate?
Skeletal.
How is skeletal muscle formed?
In utero by mononucleate myoblasts.
What are mononucleate myoblasts?
Precursor for in utero skeletal muscle development.
What happens to skeletal muscle fibres ing growth?
Skeletal muscle fibres can increase.
Can myoblasts replace skeletal muscle cells if damaged?
No- they cannot be replaced.
What are skeletal muscle fibres encased in?
Connective tissue sheath.
How is skeletal bone attached to bones?
Tendons.
How are skeletal muscle cells replaced after injury?
Satellite cells.
What do satellite cells do?
Replace skeletal muscle cells following injury- they differentiate to follow more muscle fibres.
Is the area between skeletal muscle and tendon clear?
No- there is no clear division but rather an area of hybrid cells.
Are satellite cells unlimited?
No- they are very limited which means that there is never full healing within skeletal muscle damage.
What happens to surrounding cells when skeletal muscle damage occurs?
Induced hypertrophy to try and compensate for the damaged muscle.
Is there ever complete recovery of skeletal muscle?
No- some cells will always form scar tissue.
Why is there large amounts of bleeding in skeletal muscle damage?
Very vascular structures with many blood vessels.
Why does skeletal muscle never fully recover from injury?
Myoblasts cannot replace cells and satellite cells are limited.
What are striations?
Stripes of protein bands- they start and finish at a molecular level.
What is the repeated unit between Z-lines in striations called?
Sacromere.
What is the sacromere?
Functional unit of muscle.
What is the functional unit of muscle?
Sacromere.
What are the 2 main proteins that give the sarcomere arrangement?
Actin and myosin.
How is myosin structured?
Thick filaments with myosin heads.
How is actin structured?
Thin filaments with binding sites for myosin head attachment.
What are actin and myosin major components of?
Sarcomere.
What does increased actin and myosin action lead to?
Increased generation of force.
What can actin and myosin action be altered by?
Chemical drugs / nutrients etc.
What cycle does actin and myosin act through?
Cross-bridge cycle.
How does the cross-bridge cycle work?
ADP + Pi are attached to myosin head.
Myosin head attaches to an exposed binding site on the actin filament.
The phosphate is released and the actin filament can slide along- the ADP is also released as it moves along.
The cross-bridge is broken again when ATP binds to the myosin head- it is broken back down to ADP + Pi and the structure is back at the beginning.
What are attached to the myosin head at the start of the cross-bridge cycle?
ADP + Pi.
What happens when a myosin head attaches to an exposed binding site on the actin filament?
Phosphate is released and actin filament can slide along- ADP is also released as it moves along.
How is the cross-bridge broken?
When ATP binds to the myosin head again.
What happens to ATP that breaks the cross-bridge cycle through binding to the myosin head?
Broken back down to ADP + Pi and the structure is back at the beginning again.
What 3 molecules regulate the cross-bridge cycle?
Calcium
Troponin
Tropomyosin
What does tropomyosin usually do?
Partially blocks myosin binding sites on actin filaments- it is held in position by troponin.
What does troponin do?
Holds the tropomyosin in place to block myosin binding sites on actin filaments.
What molecule partially blocks myosin binding sites on actin filaments?
Tropomyosin.
What molecule holds tropomyosin in place to block the myosin binding sites on actin filaments.
Troponin.
What is the function of calcium?
Binds to troponin which allows release of tropomyosin and unblocks the myosin binding site on the actin filament.
Why is calcium required for muscular contraction?
Required to bind to troponin and unblock tropomyosin which uncovers the myosin binding sites on the actin filament.
What molecule binds to troponin?
Calcium- binds to troponin to move tropomyosin out of the way and unblock myosin binding sites on the actin filament.
What is the main function of the sarcoplasmic reticulum?
Storage of Ca2+ ions.
Where does the sarcoplasmic reticulum exist in muscle cells?
Extends all over the muscle cell for easy access during extensive contraction.
Where do mitochondria exist in muscle cells?
All over the muscle cell for easy access during extensive contraction.
Where is calcium stored in muscle cells?
Sarcoplasmic reticulum.
What does a motor unit consist of?
Motor neurones and muscle fibres it acts on.