Muscular System Vocabulary Flashcards
A Band
The dark band in a muscle fiber that contains myosin.
Abduction
Moving limbs laterally away from body.
Actin
A protein that forms thin filaments and is involved in muscle contraction.
Adduction
Moving limbs towards mid-line of body
Antagonist
Muscles that oppose the action of other muscles.
Aponeuroses
Flat, broad sheets of connective tissue that attach muscles to bones and other muscles.
Circumduction
A circular movement of a limb or joint.
Contractility
the ability of muscle tissue to shorten forcibly when adequately stimulated
Dosiflexion
Lifting the toe towards the shin
Elasticity
The ability of a muscle cell to recoil and resume its resting length after being stretched.
Endomysium
A wispy sheet of connective tissue that surround each muscle fiber.
Epimysium
Outside muscle; an overcoat of dense irregular connective tissue that surrounds the whole muscle
Extension
Increasing the angle of a joint
Extensibility
The ability of muscle tissue to be stretched or extended.
Excitability
the ability of muscle tissue to respond to a stimulus.
Eversion
Turning the bottom of the foot away from the mid-line.
Fascia
The outside of the epimysium.
Fascicle
A bundle of muscle fibers.
Fiber
The outside of the epimysium
Fixators
Muscle fibers that stabilize a joint while other muscles perform movement.
Flexion
Decreasing the angle between bones.
Hypertension
Abnormal extension of joint.
I Band
The light band in a muscle fiber that contains actin.
Insertion
The point where a muscle attaches to a movable bone.
Irritability
Ability to receive a stimulus
Inversion
Turning the bottom of the foot towards the midline.
Isometric
A type of muscle contraction where the muscle doesn’t change length.
Isotonic
A type of muscle contraction where the muscle changes length while maintaining constant tension.
Motor Unit
A motor neuron and all the muscle fibers it controls.
Muscle Tone
The continuous and passive partial contraction of muscles
Myofibrils
Long, thread-like structures in muscle cells responsible for contraction.
Myosin
A protein the forms thick filaments and interacts with actin to cause muscle contraction.
Neuromuscular Junction
The point where a motor neuron connects with a muscle fiber.
Neurotransmitters
Chemical that transmit signals between neurons or from neurons to muscles.
Opposition
The ability of the thumb to touch each finger
Origin
The fixed attachment point of a muscle that does not move during muscle contraction.
Perimysium
The connective tissue that surrounds fascicles.
Plantar Flexion
Pointing the toe towards the floor.
Prime Mover
The main muscle responsible for a specific movement.
Pronation
Pam’s facing down.
Rotation
A movement where a bone turns around its axis.
Sarcolemma
The cell membrane of a muscle fiber.
Sarcomeres
The structural and functional units of muscle contraction within myofibrils.
Sarcoplasmic Reticulum
A specialized organelle in muscle cells that stores and releases calcium.
Supination
Palms facing upward.
Synaptic Cleft
The small gap between a nerve ending and a muscle fiber at the neuromuscular junction.
Synergist
A muscle that assists the prime mover in performing a movement.
Tetanus
A sustained muscle contraction caused by rapid, repeated stimulation
