Muscular-Skeletal System

Question 1

What are the different types of muscle? Where is each type found?

Answer 1

• Cardiac Muscle o Found in the heart - Smooth Muscle o Found in walls of blood vessels (large aorta, small arteries, arterioles, and veins) o Lymphatic vessels o Urinary bladder, uterus, male and female reproductive tracts, gastrointestinal tract, respiratory tract - Skeletal Muscle o Attached to bones by tendons

Question 2

• How is muscle organized?

Answer 2

Question 3

Describe IN DETAIL the structure of the sarcomere and excitation/contraction coupling. Remember know the structure of actin, myosin, and recall what each does. Also, know how troponin, tropomyosin, ATP and calcium play a role in contraction

Answer 3

• Actin
  o Each actin molecule contains a binding site for myosin
  o Actin chains are closely associated with two proteins called tropomyosin and troponin that regulate contraction
• Myosin
  o Protein subunits combine to form a protein with 2 heads and a long tail
   2 heads form cross bridges
   Each head contains bonding site for actin and ATP

Regulation of Contraction
- Tropomyosin
o In absence of calcium, cover myosin-binding sites
- Troponin
o Smaller protein bound to both tropomyosin and actin
o Binds Ca2+ and drags tropomyosin off of myosin-binding site and contraction begins
o Removal of Ca2+ reverses the process and contraction stops

Question 4

What is biomimetrics? provide examples. What kind of research does Dr. Ayers do?

Answer 4

• Utilize features of animal locomotion and physiology applied to robotic technology
• Also known as bionics
• Example of flying robot: Ornithopter, UC Berkeley
• Civil and military applications: surveillance, traffic control, monitoring construction sites, border protection, geographical surveillance, bomb detection and disposal

Dr. Ayers does biomimetic research and works with robots
Has created the lobster robot, and the underwater snake robot, both move and act like the animal