Physiological Flashcards
What three types of muscle tissue is there?
Cardiac
Skeletal
smooth
Which muscle tissue are striated?
Skeletal and cardiac
What are the dark bands in striated muscle caused by?
Myosin thick filaments
what are the thin bands in striated muscle caused by?
Actin thin filaments
Which muscle tissue are involunatry?
smooth and cardiac - ANS
what is the difference between cardiac and striated muscle?
with regards to initiation and propagation of contraction?
- Skeletal muscle - neurogenic initiation of contractionCardiac muscle - myogenic initiation of contraction
- Skeletal muscle has neuromuscular junction cardiac muscle doesn’t
- Skeletal muscle does not have gap junctions cardiac muscle does
- skeletal muscles have motor units cardiac muscle does not
what is the difference between cardiac and striated muscle?
with regards to Excitation Contraction Coupling?
- skeletal: Ca++ entirely from sarcoplasmic reticulum
2. Cardiac: Ca++ from ECF and sarcoplasmic reticulum (Ca++ induced Ca++ release)
what is the difference between cardiac and striated muscle?
with regards to gradation of contraction?
Skeletal: depends on
(1) motor unit recruitment (2) summation of contractions
cardiac: depends on extent of preload (amount of blood filled in heart chambers)
What neurotransmitter is used in a neuromuscular junction for skeletal muscles?
ACh (acetylcholine)
what do skeletal muscle fibres organise into?
motor units
What is a motor unit?
a single alpha motor neuron and all the skeletal muscle fibres it innervates
Which muscle may have less motor units?
muscles which serve fine movement e.g. external eye muscle and intrinsic hand muscles
Discuss the organisation of a whole muscle.
- sarcomere
- Many sarcomeres make up a MYOFIBRIL
- Many myofibrils make up a MUSCLE FIBRE
- Many muscle fibres make up a WHOLE MUSCLE
what is a muscle fibre?
a skeletal muscle cell
what is the arrangement of muscle fibres in skeletal muscle?
they are parallel to each other
also bundled by connective tissue
skeletal muscle fibres usually extend the entire length of what?
muscle
What joins bone and muscle together?
tendons
What are actin and myosin arranged into in myofibrils?
sarcomere
What is the length of a sarcomere?
one z line to the next one
What does the M line of a sarcomere show?
the midpoint of the sarcomere. within the centre of H zone
what does the A band of a sarcomere show?
Made up of thick filaments along with portions of thin filaments that overlap in both ends of thick filaments
What does the I band of a sarcomere show?
Consists of remaining portion of thin filaments that do not project in A-band
what does the H zone of a sarcomere show?
Lighter area within middle of A-band where thin filaments don’t reach
what occurs in the contraction cycle?
- Energised muscle filament myosin with Ca 2+ presence binds to actin filament (BINDING stage). Removes the troponin
- overlapping of both filaments causes release of energy in the form of ADP and Pi ( Power stroke/BENDING)
- Available ATP allows the detachment of myosin from actin ( DETACHMENT)
- Myosin now energised again
what is the definition of excitation contraction coupling
the process whereby the surface action potential results in activation of the contractile structures of the muscle fibre
In skeletal muscle fibres when is Ca 2+ released from the lateral sacs of the sarcoplasmic reticulum?
When the surface action potential spreads the transverse tubules
What are transverse tubules? (T-tubules)
extensions of the surface membrane that dip into the muscle fibre
Describe the process of skeletal cells contracting and relaxing.
- Acetylcholine is released by the axon of the motor neuron and crosses the synaptic cleft and binds to receptors on the more end plate
- Action potential generated in response to bind of ACh and subsequent end plate potential is propagated across cell surface membrane and down T tubules of muscle cell
- Action potential in T tubules stimulate release of Ca 2+ from sarcoplasmic reticulum
- Calcium ions released from lateral sacs bind to troponin on actin filaments. Tropomyosin is moved revealing binding sites on actin
- Myosin cross bridges attach to actin and bend pulling actin filaments towards centre of sarcomere powered by energy supplied by ATP
- Ca2+ is taken up by sarcoplasmic reticulum when there is no local action potential
- No more Ca 2+ causes tropomyosin back to its original position blocking actin binding sites. contraction ends
gradation of skeletal muscle tension depends on which two main factors?
- Number of muscle fibres contracting in the muscle
2. The tension created by each of the contracting muscle fibres
What is motor unit recruitment?
The stimulation of more motor units leading to a stronger contraction
what do asynchronous motor units recruitment during submaximal contraction help prevent?
muscle fatigue
What are the three main factors which determine the extent of the tension created by contracting muscle fibres?
depends on frequency of stimulation and summation of contractions and
length of muscle fibre at the onset of contraction
thickness of muscle fibre
How do you summate twitches which causes stronger contractions of skeletal muscle?
repetitive fast stimulation of skeletal muscle
what happens if a muscle fibre is restimulated after it has completely relaxed?
second twitch is the same magnitude as the previous one
what happens if a muscle fibre is restimulated before it has completely relaxed?
second twitch is added to the first one causing summation
what happens if a muscle fibre is restimulated before it hasn’t relaxed at all?
A tetanus forms - maximal sustained contraction
Cardiac muscle can be tetanised true or false?
false - long refractory period prevents generation of tetanic contraction
what is a twitch?
a single contraction caused by stimulation of a skeletal muscle
How can maximal tetanic contractions be achieved?
when the muscle is at its optimal length before the onset of contraction
The resting length of a skeletal muscle is aproximately what?
optimal length
what are the two types of skeletal muscle contractions?
- Isotonic contraction
2. Isometric contraction
What is isotonic contraction used for?
ii. what happens to the muscle tension?
(1) body movements
(2) moving objects.
ii. Muscle tension remains constant as the muscle length changes
what is isometric contraction used for?
ii. what happens to the muscle tension?
1) supporting objects in fixed positions.
(2) maintaining body posture.
ii. Muscle tension develops at constant muscle length
In both isotonic and isometric contractions how is muscle tension transmitted to the bone?
via the elastic components of muscle
when does the velocity of muscle shortening decrease?
as the load increases
what are the main differences between the different types of skeletal muscle fibres?
- the enzymatic pathways for ATP synthesis;
- the resistance to fatigue - muscle fibres with greater capacity to synthesise ATP are more resistant to fatigue; and
- the activity of myosin ATPase - this determines the speed at which energy is made available for cross bridge cycling i.e. the speed of contraction
What are three main steps involved in metabolic pathways that supply ATP in muscle fibres?
- Transfer of high energy phosphate from creatine Phosphate to ADP - immediate source for ATP
- Oxidative phosphorylation: main source when O2 is present
- Glycolysis: main source when O2 is not present
What three main types of skeletal muscle fibres are there?
- Slow oxidative type I fibres (also known as slow-twitch fibres) are used mainly for prolonged relatively low work aerobic activities e.g. maintenance of posture, walking
- Fast oxidative (Type IIa) fibres (also known as intermediate-twitch fibres) use both aerobic and anaerobic metabolism and are useful in prolonged relatively moderate work activities e.g. jogging
- Fast glycolytic (Type IIx) fibres (also known as fast-twitch fibers) use anaerobic metabolism and are mainly used for short-term high intensity activities e.g. jumping
What is a reflex?
stereotyped response to a specific stimulus
What type of reflex is the stretch reflex?
monosynaptic spinal reflex
What type of feedback mechanism is the stretch reflex?
negative feedback-resists passive change in muscle length to maintain optimal resting length of muscle
What is the sensory receptor in the stretch reflex?
ii. how is it stimulated?
the muscle spindle
ii. muscle stretching
What does stretching the muscle spindle in the stretch reflex cause?
increases firing in the afferent neurones
where do the afferent neurones synapse at in the stretch reflex?
The afferent neurons synapse in the spinal cord with the alpha motor neurons (efferent limb of the stretch reflex)
what is the result of the stretch reflex?
causes contraction of stretched muscle
How can a doctor stimulate the stretch reflex?
Tapping the muscle tendon with a rubber hammer - causes muscle to rapidly stretch leading to contraction
What nerve is stimulated by the knee jerk reflex?
ii. what spinal segment is the nerve from?
Femoral nerve
ii. L3-4