Muscle physiology Flashcards
Muscles contract (develop tension and shorten) to achieve what?
PMPE
- purposeful movement (lift up object, walk)
- manipulation of external objects (drive)
- propulsion of contents through hollow internal organs (circulation, digestion) (heart pumping blood)
- emptying contents of certain organs to external environment (urination, child birth) (food you eat moving through digestive system)
Based on location what are the types of muscle?
Skeletal, cardiac, smooth
How much body weight is composed of skeletal muscle in women? men?
in women 32% of the body weight is skeletal muscle, 40% in men
cardiac and smooth compose the other 10% of muscle
What are the types of muscle based on striations?
striated, unstriated
What are striated muscles, what do they look like under a light microscope?
striated muscles have dark and light bands under a light microscope; cardiac and skeletal muscles are striated
What are unstriated muscles?
They do not have banding; smooth muscles are unstriated
What are the two types of muscles based on control?
voluntary and involuntary
Which muscles are voluntary?
skeletal (somatic innervation) - we decide when to walk or pick up an object
Which muscles are involuntary?
cardiac and smooth (autonomic innervation) - heart beating
Why do men have more skeletal muscle than women?
- they work out more
- they have less body fat
- testosterone is responsible for it
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What are skeletal muscles?
they are many muscle fibers that lie parallel to one another and are bundled together by connective tissue
muscle fiber = muscle cell
What are the two defining characteristics of skeletal muscles?
they are multinucleated and have multiple mitochondria
Why are skeletal muscles multinucleated?
During embryonic development multiple cells fuse together forming the skeletal muscles
What is the purpose of having multiple mitochondria in skeletal muscle?
production of energy which is needed for contraction
What is a tendon?
it is connective tissue that connects muscle to bone
What are the three layers of skeletal muscle?
epimysium
perimysium
endomysium
What is the epimysium?
connective tissue that covers the entire muscle
What is the perimysium?
tissue that covers a group of muscle fiber
What is the endomysium?
tissue that covers each muscle fiber
What are the contractile elements in a muscle cell/fiber?
myofibrils
they constitute 80% of myofibril volume
A muscle cell/fiber has a regular arrangement of thick and thin filaments, why are they referred to as thick and thin?
they differ in diameter
What is actin in a muscle cell?
the thin filaments
What is myosin?
a thick filament
Starting with a whole muscle what is the process of components?
whole muscle -> muscle fiber/cell -> myofibril -> thin filaments (actin) and thick filaments (myosin)
What are sarcomeres?
a functional unit of the myofibril
- the smallest unit that can perform contraction
Where are sarcomeres found?
between two z-lines
What do sarcomeres consist of?
actin and myosin
There are four regions of sarcomeres, what are they?
- A band
- H zone
- M line
- I Band
What is an a-band?
it is where myosin (thick) filaments are stacked along with parts of actin (thin filaments)
What is an H zone?
myosin in the center of the A band - devoid of actin!
What is the M line in a sarcomere?
it extends vertically down the center of the A band to provide support
What is an I band?
it has a section of actin (thin filaments) that doesn’t project into the A band