Muscular system Flashcards
my/o
muscle
sacr/o
muscle cells
Three types of muscles and where they are found and there type of control
Skeletal : the animal’s ‘muscles’ or meat – voluntary control
Smooth: found in eyes, air passages in lungs, stomach/intestines, urinary bladder, blood vessels, and reproductive tract – involuntary (autonomic) control
Cardiac: found in the heart only – involuntary control
Muscles are classified using
Microscopic appearance - straited or non-striated
Location in the body - in organ, attached to skeleton
Method of nervous and endocrine control - voluntary/involuntary
Functions of the muscle
Functions to provide motion, maintain posture (or stabilize body positions), regulate organ volume (such as GIT and heart), and produce heat
Contraction of the muscle occurs by
Interaction of special protein fibres
Twitch contraction
Single muscle contracting
3 phases of muscle contraction
- Latent
- Contracting
- Relaxation
Contraction produces
Movement and heat
Muscle tissue 4 characteristics and what they mean
Excitability: (or irritability): the ability of a muscle cell to respond to neurotransmitters or hormones by producing electrical signals called action potentials (impulses)
Contractility: the ability of the muscle cell to shorten
Extensibility: muscle tissue can be stretched without damage
Elasticity: muscle tissue tends to return to original shape after shortening or stretching
Skeletal muscle description
Consists of cylindrical fibers (cells) which contain many peripheral nuclei
Appear striated under microscope due to the presence of light and dark bands
Usually under voluntary control by the somatic nervous system
Contraction enables movement of head, trunk, and extremities
Function of skeletal muscle
Motion, posture, and heat production
Skeletal muscles are composed of
Belly
Two or more attachments
Surrounded by fibrous tissue
The attachment of skeletal muscle 3 general forms
Tendon - a bundle of connective tissue which attaches muscle to bone
Aponeurosis - a broad sheet of connective tissue usually located between broad flat muscles
The linea alba is an example of an aponeuroses
Direct or fleshy attachment (not in your textbook) - direct connection of muscle to bone with little visible connective tissue involved
Example are intercostal muscle
Origin attacmnet site is
the stationary (or more or less fixed) end of the muscle
Usually located proximally on limbs
Head: refers to each origin in those muscles that have more than 1 origin
Insertion attachment site is
Attachment at the moveable end of muscle
Usually located distally on the limbs
Prime mover muscle action is
Used to describe a muscle or group of muscles that directly produces a desired movement
Antagonist muscle action is
Used to describe a muscle or group of muscles that directly opposes the action of a prime mover muscle
The effect is a smoothing out of the movement or preventing movement from occurring (such as when postural muscles work to stabilize your body to allow you to sit up straight without wavering)
Synergist muscle action is
Describes a muscle or group of muscles that contract at the same time as a prime mover and assists the prime mover in carrying out its action
Fixator muscle action is
Muscles that stabilise the joint to allow other movements to take place
How muscles are named
Action
Shape
Location
Direction of fibres
Number of heads or divisions
Attachment sites
Extrinsic muscle
Attach limb to axial skeleton
Intrinsic muscle
Extends between bones of limb itself
Connective tissue layer consists of
Endomysium
Perimysium
Epimysium
Endomysium is
Connective tissue layer of fine, reticular fibers surrounding each muscle cell
Perimysium is
tough connective tissue layer binding together fascicles, or bundles of muscle fibers
Epimysium is
Tough collagenous connective tissue that binds together groups of muscle fascicles (i.e. is the cover for the muscle itself)
The connective tissue layers are continuous with and provide
All three layers are continuous with the tendons and aponeurosis
Create a strong attachment to the skeleton
Also provide blood vessels, nerve fibers, and adipose tissue (‘marbling’) to the muscle
Skeletal muscle cells are
Very long, thin fibers (cells). This is why a muscle cell is sometimes called a fiber
Multinuclear – up to or > 100 nuclei on the periphery of the cell, just below the muscle cell membrane, or sarcolemma
Cell is filled with tightly packed myofibrils, which are long thin structures made up of tightly packed Contain many mitochondria for energy production
Have a large network of the muscle cell endoplasmic reticulum, which is called sarcoplasmic reticulum
A system of tubules called transverse or T tubules extend into the cell from the sarcolemma (cell membrane) and assist in transmission of nerve impulses
Myofilamnets are
These are made up of thin actin and thick myosin filaments (protein molecules)
The filaments are grouped together in units called sarcomeres. The arrangement of actin and myosin within the sarcomere gives skeletal muscle its striated appearance
Muscle contraction occurs through
A mechanism reffered to as the sliding filament mechanism
Each muscle cell is built of
Repeating units of actin and myosin filaments called sarcomeres
In order for the muscle to contract what happens
The thin actin filaments can ratchet themselves along the myosin filaments to shorten the sarcomere and this shortens the overall muscle fibers
The combined shortening of all the sarcomeres in a muscle fiber (cell) is a contraction
In effect, the actin filaments slide along the myosin to increase the overlap and shorten the muscle. The length of the individual actin and myosin protein does not change.
The movement or pumping of Ca ions from the sarcoplasmic reticulum into the sarcoplasm initiates the contraction process
The relaxation of the muscle fiber involves the movement of Ca ions in the reverse direction
Both require ATP - made in mitochondria
Neuromuscular junction is the point
Motor nerves links to the muscle fibers
This is not a direct contract but rather though a synaptic vesicle