Muscle Physiology 1 + 2 Flashcards
Which types of muscle are striated?
Cardiac and skeletal
What are cilia and flagella made of?
Microtubules
Which type(s) of muscle is/are voluntary?
Skeletal
Which type(s) of muscle is/are non-voluntary?
Smooth and cardiac
What is the function of a muscle cell?
To contract and relax in order to create movement
Which types of muscle contain sarcomeres?
Skeletal and cardiac
How long are sarcomeres?
1-2 micrometres
Which muscles contract longitudinally ONLY?
Skeletal and heart muscle
Which muscles contract longitudinally and transversely?
Smooth muscle
2 axis contraction
What is the electrochemical gradient?
Chemical and electrical gradients across the plasma membrane. Created by distribution of ions outside/inside the plasma membrane.
Which is more negative: inside the cell or outside the cell?
Inside the cell
What is the concentration of Na+ inside/outside the cell?
145mM Na+ outside the cell, 12mM Na+ inside the cell
What is the concentration of K+ inside/outside the cell?
160mM K+ inside the cell
3.5mM K+ outside the cell
What is the Na+K+ATPase?
Sodium potassium pump - actively pumps Na+ and K against their concentration gradients (3 Na+ out for 2 K+ in, causes net transfer of +ve out of the cell => inside of cell is negative
What is the resting membrane potential in a muscle cell?
-90mV
What is the resting membrane potential in a nerve cell?
-70mV
What is the action potential?
A rapid change in the membrane potential caused by rapid activation of ion channels, and fluxes of ion currents followed by a return to the resting Em
Which process is the basis for neuronal communication and elicits muscle contraction?
The action potential
What is membrane potential expressed as?
Voltage inside the cytoplasm minus the voltage in the ECF
Which active channel balances the ‘leak’?
Na+K+ATPase by moving ions against their electrochemical gradient
What are the 3 types of gated channels?
- Chemically regulated channels
- Voltage-regulated channels
- Mechanically-regulated channels
What does the ‘all or none’ principle refer to in generating an action potential?
Once the threshold is reached, the neuron will fire an action potential. The response will be the same, independent of the size of stimulus, so long as the threshold is reached.
What is the refractory period of an action potential?
- Refractory period lasts from the time the action potential begins until normal resting potential returns
- During this period, the neuron cannot elicit another action potential
Which channels are activated by depolarization (When voltage-gated Na+ channels are opened)?
Ca+ channels
Calcium flows into the cell
Which cells generate action potentials in the heart?
Cells in the SA node
Once an action potential is generated in the SA node, where does it spread to?
Through the AV node, bundles of His and Purkinje fibres
Which ion is the main activator of contraction?
Calcium (Ca2+)
Describe excitation-coupling in smooth muscle
- Depolarisation (action potential) and/or agonists in smooth muscle
- Activates inward Ca2+ channel current
- This activates Ca2+ release from sarcoplasmic reticiulum.
- Release is mediated by RyRs and IP3Rs
- Intracellular [Ca2+] increases from 0.1 to 1.0 uM
- Ca2+ triggers myofilament contraction
- Ca2+ sequestered into the SR via the SR Ca+pump (SERCA - an ATPase), and removed from the cell by the plasma membrane Na/Ca exchanger (NCX) and Ca-ATPase
- This removes Ca2+ from myofilaments whereby their relax