Muscular System Flashcards
the regular repeating region between successive Z disks and constitutes the
functional unit of contraction in skeletal muscle.
Sarcomere
The enzyme that cleaves the heavy meromyosin, releasing the short tail
(S2 fragment) and the two globular heads (S1 fragments). These S1 fragments have
adenosine triphosphatase (ATPase) activity but require interaction with actin to
release the noncovalently bound adenosine diphosphate (ADP) and Pi
Papain
It is a long, inelastic protein. Two molecules of it wrap around each thin filament and assist in anchoring it to the Z disk.
(1) Each nebulin molecule is embedded in the Z disk by its carboxy terminal but does not span the entire Z disk.
(2) The amino terminal of each molecule ends in the A band, at or near the free end of its thin filament.
(3) In skeletal muscle, it is thought to determine the length of its associated thin
filament, although in cardiac muscle it extends only one-quarter of the length of the
thin filament.
Nebulin
A narrow space between the presynaptic membrane of the axon terminal and the postsynaptic membrane (also known as the motor end plate) of the
muscle cell. The synaptic cleft contains an amorphous external lamina, a basal lamina-like material, derived from the muscle cell.
Synaptic cleft
It binds to actin, inhibiting interaction of myosin and actin.
Troponin I (TnI)
It possesses four binding sites for calcium. It may be related to calmodulin.
Troponin C (TnC)
They are nonstriated, fusiform cells that range in length from 20 μm in small blood vessels to 500 μm in the uterus of pregnant women. They contain a single nucleus and actively divide and regenerate. They
are surrounded by an external lamina and a reticular fiber network and may be arranged in layers,
small bundles, or helices (in arteries).
Smooth muscle cells
It is composed of two identical heavy chains and two pairs of light chains.
Myosin
It is relatively small proteins, approximately 60 kDa, that form bonds not only with dystrophins but also with desmin and dystrobrevin.
Syntrophins
It is marked by degeneration of motor neurons of the spinal cord, resulting in muscle atrophy. Death is usually due to respiratory muscle failure.
Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS, or Lou Gehrig disease)
A synapse between a branch of a motor nerve
axon and a skeletal muscle cell
Myoneural junction
It is an irreversible necrosis of cardiac muscle cells due to prolonged ischemia. It may result in death if the cardiac muscle damage is extensive.
Myocardial infarct
It is a pencil-shaped molecule that is the lynchpin between the extracellular
matrix and the cytoskeleton attached to the peripheral-most myofibril of the striated muscle fiber. It is dystrophin that plays the greatest role in strengthening and
maintaining the integrity of the sarcolemma during the process of contraction.
Dystrophin
They include thick filaments (15 nm in diameter and 1.5 μm long) and thin filaments
(7 nm in diameter and 1.0 μm long). They lie parallel to the long axis of the myofibril in a precise arrangement that is responsible for the sarcomere banding pattern.
Myofilaments
- Arise from mesenchymal cells and possess vimentin
as their characteristic intermediate filaments as well as caldesmon and cytokeratins. - Although they resemble fibroblasts, they possess higher amounts of actin and myosin and are
capable of contraction. - They may contract during wound healing to decrease the size of the defect (wound contraction).
Myofibroblasts
They are isotropic with polarized light and appear lightly stained in routine histologic preparations. They contain only thin filaments.
I bands
It is caused by a sex-linked, recessive genetic defect that results in the inability to synthesize dystrophin, an actin-binding protein normally present in small amounts in the sarcolemma. Dystrophin also stabilizes the sarcolemma and acts as a link between the cytoskeleton and the extracellular matrix.
- This common, serious degenerative disorder occurs in young men and results in death
usually before 20 years of age. - It is characterized by the replacement of degenerating skeletal muscle cells by fatty
and fibrous connective tissue, but it may also affect cardiac muscle.
Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD)
It is the membrane on the synaptic surface of the axon terminal
Presynaptic membrane
They are long, cylindrical, multinucleated and are enveloped by an external lamina and reticular fibers. Their cytoplasm is called sarcoplasm, and their
plasmalemma is called the sarcolemma and forms deep tubular invaginations, or T (transverse) tubules
Skeletal muscle cells
It surrounds individual muscle cells and is composed of reticular fibers and an
external lamina.
Endomysium
- Contract spontaneously and display a rhythmic beat, which is modified by hormonal and neural (sympathetic and parasympathetic) stimuli.
- May branch at their ends to form connections with adjacent cells.
- Contain one centrally located nucleus, or occasionally two nuclei.
- Contain glycogen granules, especially at either pole of the nucleus, and the sarcoplasm is rich
in myoglobin. - Possess thick and thin filaments arranged in poorly defined myofibrils.
- Exhibit a cross-banding pattern identical to that in skeletal muscle.
- Do not regenerate; injuries are repaired by the formation of fibrous
connective (scar) tissue by fibroblasts
Cardiac muscle cells