Nervous System - ANS & ENS Flashcards
What are the three types of muscle tissue?
Skeletal muscle
Cardiac muscle
Smooth muscle
What gives skeletal muscles their striated appearance?
Skeletal muscles are made of repeating sarcomeres
= thin and thick filaments organized in a particular way that gives them a striated appearance
Do smooth muscles have a striated appearance? Why or why not?
In smooth muscles, there are still thin and thick filaments but they are not organized into sarcomeres for that striated appearance
Where can smooth muscle be found in the body?
- Female reproductive system
- Stomach
- Blood vessels
- Trachea
- Iris
- Bladder
How do skeletal muscles and smooth muscles differ in structure?
Skeletal Muscles are MULTINUCLEATED (many nuclei)
- striated from sarcomeres of thin and thick filaments
Smooth muscles only have ONE NUCLEUS
- have thick middles and then taper out at the ends
- have thick and thin filaments but are not arranged into sarcomeres (no striated pattern)
Skeletal muscles and smooth muscles differ by one key element: They do not have the same types of filaments: Elaborate
Skeletal muscles: thin and thick filaments
Smooth muscles: thin, thick, and intermediate filaments/microfilaments
Compare contraction in skeletal muscles and smooth muscles
Skeletal muscles
- contraction: sarcomeres shorten as muscles contract along one axis (through calcium-contraction cycle)
Smooth muscles
- contraction: contracts along many axes and bulges towards the middle
What are the two subtypes of smooth muscle tissue?
- Multi-unit smooth muscle
- Visceral smooth muscle
How does multi-unit smooth muscle differ from visceral smooth muscle?
They differ by their innervation and interconnection, affecting excitation
What is multi-unit smooth muscle?
Smooth muscle cells communicating with neurons, forming NMJs, and getting excited through communication directly from a neuron
- involves many smooth muscles cells working together with neurons
- webbing of neurons to communicate
- carry out excitation through synapses
What is visceral smooth muscle?
AKA single-unit smooth muscle
Smooth muscle cells communicating with each other (and occasionally a pacesetter cell) through gap junctions
- excitation can be spread through connecting muscle cells
- have pacesetter cells
- excitation through gap-junction coupling and pacesetter cells
- can perform excitation or inhibition through neurotransmitters
What are pacesetter cells and which type of smooth muscle tissue is it found in?
These are special types of cells in visceral smooth muscle that can depolarize on its own
- able to communicate through the gap junctions
- excitation happens through gap junctions
True or False:
Smooth muscle excitation-contraction coupling is also calcium-dependent
TRUE!
Smooth muscle excitation-contraction coupling is very similar to skeletal muscle excitation-contraction in that they both require the use of Ca2+
However, the exact use of Ca2+ is slightly different in skeletal muscle fibres compared to smooth muscle fibres
Excitation requires an increased [Ca2+]
How does smooth muscle use Ca2+ in excitation-contraction coupling?
Instead of the Ca2+ binding to troponin, Ca2+ in smooth muscle binds to another protein called CALDESMON
Ca2+ is also involved in myosin head activation, turning of the head in the contraction cycle
- Compared to the skeletal muscle contraction cycle where ATP hydrolysis was in charge of activating the myosin head
What is caldesmon?
A protein that is present in smooth muscle in placement of troponin
What are the two main differences between Ca2+ roles in excitation-contraction coupling in smooth muscles and skeletal muscles?
- Caldesmon is present in smooth muscle instead of troponin in smooth muscle
- Calcium leads to myosin head activation in smooth muscle
True or False:
Smooth muscle can be found inside the eye
TRUE
The iris is an example of smooth muscle in the eye
True or False:
Smooth muscle is non-contractile
FALSE
Smooth muscle does contract – And it does so on many axes (forming into bulges in the center)
True or False:
Smooth muscle does contain myosin and actin filaments
TRUE
Smooth muscle contains myosin and actin filaments AND INTERMEDIATE FILAMENTS, but they are not arranged into sarcomeres
True or False:
Input from the nervous system is always required for smooth muscle excitation
FALSE
ALWAYS is a very strong word, and smooth muscles (specifically visceral smooth muscle) is capable of exciting without input from the nervous system because it has PACESETTER CELLS
True or False:
Input from the nervous system is never required for smooth muscle excitation
FALSE
NEVER is also another strong word and although pacesetter cells in visceral smooth muscles don’t require input from the nervous system, multi-unit smooth muscles do require input from the nervous system through neuronal connections
True or False:
Smooth muscle cells can be directly inhibited, as well as excited
TRUE
Through single-unit smooth muscle tissue, the smooth muscle cells are capable of being directly inhibited or excited (neurotransmitters)
True or False:
Smooth muscle cells in a tissue are always interconnected by gap junctions
FALSE
Multi-unit smooth muscle cells are interconnected by neurons… Visceral smooth muscle cells are interconnected by gap junctions, but not all smooth muscle cells are interconnected by gap junctions… Some are connected by neurons!
True or False:
Increases in intracellular calcium are required for smooth muscle contraction
TRUE
Just like skeletal muscle, smooth muscle also requires an increase in intracellular calcium for contraction!
What are the 3 anatomical divisions of the nervous system?
- Central Nervous System
- Peripheral Nervous System
- Enteric Nervous System
What are the 2 subdivisions of the peripheral nervous system?
- Autonomic Nervous System
- Somatic Nervous System
What are the 2 subdivisions of the autonomic nervous system?
- ANS - Parasympathetic division
- ANS - Sympathetic division
What is the peripheral nervous system?
Outside of the skull and spine, but directly connected to the CNS
- still forms synapses with the CNS