Muscles Flashcards
Describe the three types of muscle, including shape and number of nuclei
skeletal: striated, cylindrical rods, multiple nuclei per cell
cardiac: striated, cylindrical rods, one nucleus per cell
smooth muscle: no striations, spindle shape, one nucleus
What are the roles of skeletal muscle in maintaining homeostasis
- Acquisition of nutrients/fuel
- processing food (chewing/swallowing)
- breathing
- escape from harm
- generation of heat for temperature control
- source of amino acids for times of famine
Why are skeletal muscles big and expensive?
30-40% of total body mass
#1 consumer of nutrients, oxygen, uses lots of ATP
high metabolism produces abundant wastes that tend to disrupt ECF homeostasis
What is a muscle cell also known as?
muscle fiber, a cylinder
What does the sarcoplasm contain
organelles
Describe the muscle structure, going from largest to smallest?
whole skeletal muscle (organ), muscle fiber (one cell), myofibrils, thin and thick filaments, myosin and actin
What are myofibrils?
organelles, cylinders of intracellular contractile structures arranged in repeating units
Are muscles made of one or several tissue types?
several
What is the H-zone?
found in A band, strictly myosin
What is the I band?
light area, just actin
What is the A band?
darker area majority myosin
What is the M line?
myosin attachment, found in the middle of the H zone
What is the Z-line?
actin attachment
What is a sarcomere?
one unit of the repeating thin and thick filament pattern within the myofibril
What is the functional unit of the muscle?
sarcomere
What does each myosin molecule containt?
a long rod-like segment facing the center of the sarcomere and 2 cross-bridge heads that extend out towards the overlying actin
How many bonding sites does each cross-bridge head have? What are they for?
two, one for actin and one for ATP, the binding ATP binding site also serves as an enzyme that hydrolyzes ATP
Describe the structure of thin filaments
globular acting (g-actin) molecules come together to form an actin helix or filament-actin (f-actin), appear as a 2 strand pearl necklace
Tm and Tn join and block the binding site for myosin
What do Tropomyosin and Troponin look like?
cinnamon stick, mickey mouse head
What is the cystolic calcium concentration during muscle relaxation?
low, 100nM
What is the cystolic calcium concentration during muscle activation?
high, 1-10 uM
What happens during muscle relaxation?
Tn push Tm, Tm blocks binding site
What happens during muscle activation?
calcium on Tn, Tn stops pushing Tm, Tm gets out of the way
Do muscles always lengthen during activation?
no
What does calcium allow?
the myosin cross-bridge and actin can physically interact to cause the muscle to contract
define contraction
activation of myosin cross-bridges to exert force on the thin filaments
What is the sarcolemma?
plasma membrane and transverse tubules
What is the sarcoplasmic reticulum?
smooth(longitudinal) ER and terminal cisternae (calium storage)
Define a motor unit
an alpha motor neuron and the multiple muscle fibers it innervates (stimulates)
Describe the relationships between skeletal muscle fibers and alpha-motor neurons
each skeletal muscle fiber is stimulates by one alpha motor neuron, and one alpha motor neuron branches to activate multiple fibers within a motor unit.
Where are action potentials propagated on skeletal muscle?
sarcolemma
What is excitation -contraction coupling?
complex processes connect the action potentials in a motor neuron to the generation of force by cross-bridges
List the events that occur at a neuromuscular junction.
- motor neuron action potential
- Ca2+ enters voltage-gated channels
- acetylcholine degradation
- acetylcholine binding opens ion channel
- Na+ entry
- local current between depolarized end plate and adjacent muscle plasma membrane
7.muscle fiber action potential initiation - propagated action potential in muscle plasma membrane
What is the graded potential in the neuromuscular junction also known as?
End Plate Potential, EPP
Where does the synapse of the neuromuscular junction occur?
motor end plate
What are end plate potentials?
HUGE graded potentials, 1 alpha motor neuron per one muscle fiber AP, always excitatory
What is binding to what in end plate potentials?
ACh always binding to nicotinic ACh receptors
Where does inhibition of skeletal muscle occur?
CNS
How does Botulinum toxin affect NMJ?
presynaptic Ach release, cuts of snare proteins, no contraction
How does Organophosphates affect NMJ?
block enzymes that break down Ach
How does Curare affect NMJ?
AchR antagonist, post-synaptic