Muscle and Tendon Flashcards
Describe the gross anatomy of skeletal muscle
muscle is comprised of a primary muscle belly, consisting of sub-units called fascicles, which are a bunch of muscle fibres
State the primary unit of muscle
muscle fibre = muscle cell
What is aponeurosis?
a connective tissue that continues on the surface of (and surrounds) the muscle belly
State the function of aponeurosis
“acts as a bridge b/n:
- muscle & bone
- muslce & tendon”
State two ways by which the primary muscle belly can attach to bone
”- tendon
- aponeurosis”
State the role of skeletal muscle in the body (4)
”- joint movement
- joint stabilisation (prevention of joint movement)
- postural control
- generation of heat”
State the role of smooth muscle in the body (8)
”- continence
- mastication
- swallowing
- digestion
- birthing
- vasodilation/vasoconstriction
- bronchodilation/bronchoconstriction
- pupil dilation/constriction”
State the role of cardiac muscle in the body
maintaining a cardiac rhythm
Describe the design of cardiac muscle (4)
”- striated
- single nucleus (which is centrally located)
- involuntary
- irregular arrangement w/ intercalated disks”
Describe the design of smooth muscle (4)
”- no striation
- single nucleus
- involuntary
- longer contractions”
Define ‘muscle architecture’
the arrangement of muscle fibres (relative to the direction in which that muscle is pulling)
State the two types of muscle arrangements
”- pennate
- parallel”
Describe pennate muscle (5)
”- large no. of muscle fibres per unit
- very strong
- the muscle tires easily
- arranged in a diagonal direction onto the tendon
- ↑ Physiological Cross-Sectional Area (PCSA) = ↑ muscle force”
Describe parallel muscle (4)
”- fibres run parallel to the line of pull of the muscle
- long muscle
- not very strong
- high endurance”
Where is muscle positioned in the limb?
proximal
Where is tendon positioned in the limb?
distal
State the function of tendon (5)
”- Minimizes distal limb mass
- Joins muscle to bone (transmits muscle force to skeleton)
- Elastic energy storage
- Energy conservation
- Power amplification of muscles”
Describe the structure of tendons
Each tendon > Fascicles > Sub-fascicles (primary fibre bundle)
State the two main components of sub-fascicles
”- collagen fibres
- collagen fibrils”
State the observable pattern of a tendon under a microscope
crimping structure
Which element is important in directly triggering contraction?
calcium ions
In relaxed muscle, what is the myosin-binding site on actin blocked by?
tropomyosin
During muscle contraction, when does the cross-bridge detach?
the myosin head binds to an ATP molecule
What causes muscle relaxation to occur?
calcium ions are actively transported into the sarcoplasmic reticulum
How would muscle contractions be affected if ATP was completely depleted in a muscle fibre?
if ATP was completely depleted, no ATP could bind to myosin and therefore myosin heads could not detach from actin. This would mean that muscle remained in a contracted state.
Explain the mechanisms involved in muscle contraction
“1. The muscle receives an impulse from a nerve cell in the form of an action potential
- The impulse penetrates to the centre of the muscle fibre via transverse tubules, deep infoldings of the sarcolemma
- This causes calcium ion channels in the sarcoplasmic reticulum membranes to open
- Calcium ions diffuse out rapidly into the myofibrils to bind to the troponin molecules
- The troponin molecules change shape, causing the tropomyosin to move to a different position on the actin filaments
- The myosin-binding site on the actin is now free and the extended myosin heads bind to actin
- The bound ADP and phosphate are released causing the myosin heads to change back to their relaxed shape, so pulling the actin filaments towards the centre of the sarcomere
- The binding of an ATP to each myosin head causes them to let go of the actin
- Each myosin head acts as an ATPase. The breakdown of ATP to ADP and phosphate in the myosin heads releases energy which extends the head once again
- If calcium is still present and there is still a supply of ATP, this process will continue again and again.
- After the action potential has passes, the calcium ion channels close and the calcium ions are pumped back into the sarcoplasmic reticulum. This allows the troponin to return to its previous state and causes the muscle to relax”
What occurs to actin and myosin filaments when muscles contract?
during muscle contraction, actin and myosin filaments do not shorten but they slide past each other
State and describe the 3 types of muscle contractions
”- isometric = contraction occurs, overall length of muscle does not change; muscle resists motion
- concentric = produces movement, muscle shortens in length
- eccentric = produces movement, muscle is being stretched; muscle tries to control, slow, or prevent movement at the joint”
State what occurs after muscle contraction
Ca2+ ions in the myoplasm are pumped back into the SR
State the name of the pump responsible for actively transporting calcium ions back into the SR
Ca2+ ATPase
What is the cell membrane of a muscle fibre called?
sarcolemma
The correct order for the smallest to the largest unit of organisation in muscle tissue is:
myofilament, myofibril, muscle fibre, fascicle
State what the stripy appearance of the muscle fibres is caused by
the regular arrangement of the myofilaments w/i the myofibrils
State the function of the M-line
provides an attachment point for myosin filaments
State the function of the Z-line
provides an attachment point for actin filaments