muscular system vocab

Question 1

acetylcholine

Answer 1

a neurotransmitter at the neuromuscular junction

Question 2

acetylcholinesterase

Answer 2

an enzyme that inactivates acetylcholine

Question 3

antagonists

Answer 3

muscles that have the opposite action to that of the prime mover

Question 4

aponeurosis

Answer 4

a broad flat sheet of connective tissue that connects one muscle to another

Question 5

contractibility

Answer 5

the ability of muscle cells to shorten to produce movement

Question 6

elasticity

Answer 6

the ability of tissue to return to its original shape

Question 7

epimysium

Answer 7

fibrous connective tissue that surrounds the whole muscle

Question 8

excitability

Answer 8

ability of muscle and nerve tissue to receive and respond to stimuli

Question 9

extensibility

Answer 9

the ability of muscle tissue to stretch when pulled

Question 10

insertion

Answer 10

the end of the muscle tissue that is attached to a relatively moveable part

Question 11

motor unit

Answer 11

a single neuron and all its muscle fibers it stimulates

Question 12

neuromuscular junction

Answer 12

area of communication between the axon terminal of a motor neuron and the sarcolemma of a muscle fiber

Question 13

neurotransmitter

Answer 13

a chemical substance that is released at the axon terminals to stimulate a muscle fiber contraction or an impulse in another neuron

Question 14

origin

Answer 14

the end of the muscle that is attached to relatively immovable parts

Question 15

prime mover

Answer 15

the muscle that is mainly responsible for a particular movement

Question 16

sarcolemma

Answer 16

covering of a muscle cell; the cell membrane

Question 17

sarcoplasm

Answer 17

the cytoplasm of the cell

Question 18

synergist

Answer 18

muscles that assist a prime mover but are not capable of producing movement thereselves