Muscles and Muscle Tissue Flashcards
Contraction
To shorten or develop tension, an ability highly developed ing muscle cells
Synaptic Vesicles
Small membranous sacs containing neruotransmitters
Contractility
Muscle cell’s ability to move by shortening
Fascicle
Bundle of nerve or muscle fibers bound together by connective tissue
Glycolysis
Breakdown of glucose to pyruvic acid-an anaerobic process
Muscle tone
Low levels of contractile activity in relaxed muscle’ Keeps the muscle healthy and ready to act
Neuromuscular Junction (motor end plate)
Region where a motor neuron comes into close contact with a skeletal muscle cell
Anaerobic threshold
The point at which muscle metabolism converts to anaerobic glycolysis
Myoglobin
Oxygen-binding pigment in muscle
Stressor
Any stimulus that directly or indirectly causes the hypothalamus to initiate stress-reducing reponses, such as the fight-or-flight response
Sarcomere
The smallest contractile unit of muscle; extends form one Z disc to the next
Myofibril
Rodlike bundle of contractile filaments found in muscle fibers (cells)
Perimysium
Connective tissue that bundles muscle fibers into fascicles
Excitation-contraction (E-C) coupling
Sequence of events by which transmission of an action potential along the sarcolemma leads to the sliding of myofilaments
Sarcoplasm
The cytoplasm of a muscle fiber
Actin
A contractile protein of muscle
Endomysium
Thin connective tissue surrounding each muscle cell
Muscle fiber
A muscle cell
Latent period
Period of time between stimulation and the onset of muscle contraction
Creatine Kinase
Enzyme that catalyzes the transfer of phosphate from creatine phosphate to ADP, forming creating and TAP, Important in muscle contraction
Myosin
One of the principal contractile proteins found in muscle
Oxidative phosphorylation
Process of ATP synthesis during which an inorganic phosphate group attached to ADP; occurs via the electron transport chain within the mitochondria
Aerobic endurance
The length of time a muscle can continue to contract using aerobic pathways
Graded Muscle response
Variations in the degree of muscle contraction by changing either the frequency or strength of the stimulus
Sarcolemma
The plasma membrane of a muscle fiber
Polypeptide
A chain of amino acids
Aponeurosis
Fibrous or membranous sheets connecting a muscle and the part it moves
Smooth muscle
Spindle-shaped cells with one centrally located nucleus and no externally visible striation (bands). Found mainly in the walls of hollow organs
Acetylcholinesterase (AChE)
Enzyme present at the neuromuscular junction and synapses that degrades acetylcholine and terminates its action
Myofilament
Filament that constitutes myofibrils. Of two types: Actin and Myosin
Muscle Tension
The force exerted by a contracting muscle on some object
Cardiac muscle
Specialized muscle of the heart
Tetanus
A smooth, sustained muscle contraction resulting form high frequency stimulation; an infectious disease caused by an anaerobic bacterium
Insertion
Movable attachment of a muscle
Threshold stimulus
Weakest stimulus capable of producing a reaponse in an excitable tissue
Acetylcholine (ACh)
Chemical transmitter substance released by some nerve endings
Synaptic cleft
Fluid-filled space at a synapse
Peristalsis
Progressive, wavelike contractions that move foodstuffs through the alimentary tube organs (or that move other substances through other hollow body organs)
Motor unit
A motor neuron and all the muscle cells it stimulates