Physiology Flashcards
What is a motor unit?
a single alpha motor neuron and all the skeletal muscle fibres it innervates
What does the number of muscle fibres per motor unit depend on?
the functions served by the muscle- eg. fine or gross movements
What is the difference between the initation of contraction in cardiac and skeletal muscle?
in cardiac it is myogenic (pacemaker potentional) whereas in SK it is neurogenic
What are the factors that determine the gradation of contraction in SK muscles compared to cardiac muscle
in SK muscle it is by motor unti recruitment and the summation of contractions whereas in cardiac muscle it depends on the extent of the heart filling with blood
What is excitiation contraction coupling?
the process whereby the surface action potential results in activation of the contractile mechanism of the muscle fibre
What stimulates the calcium release from the sarcoplasmic reticulum?
when the surface AP spreads down the transverse tubules
What are T-tubules?
extensions of hte surface membrane that dip into the muscle fibre
What is the predominant structure of SK muslce fibres?
myofibrils
What protein gives the lighter appeanace in myofibrisl?
actin
What protein causes the darker appearance in the fibres?
myocin
What is the functional unit of muscle?
sarcomere
What is the defintion of a sarcomere?
the length of a myofibril between 2 Z-lines
What are the Z-lines?
they connect the thin filmanets of 2 adjoining sarcomeres
What is the A-band?
made up of thick filaments along with portionso f thin filaments that overlap in both ends of thick filaments
What is the H-zone?
lighter area within the middle of the A-band where thin filaments dont reach
What is the M-line?
extends vertically down middle of A-band within the centre of H-zone
What is the I-band?
consists of remaining portion of thin filaments that do not project in A-band (light area)
How is muscle tension produced?
sliding of actin filaments on myocin filaments, this is an ATP-dependent interaction
Why is ATP required for both contraction and relaxation?
ATP is used to take back calcium into the SR as well power and release the cross bridges (binds to actin to prepare for myosin binding, binds to myosin to unbind it from actin)
How does calcium switch on cross bridge formation?
calcium binds to troponin which results in the repositioning of troponin-tropomyocin complex to uncover the cross bridge binding site on actin
What does gradation of SK muscle tension depend on?
number of muscle fibres contracting within the muscle and tension developed by each contracting muscle fibre
What is motor unit recruitment?
stimulation of more motor units to achieve a stronger contraction
How can motor unit recruitment be done in a way to prevent muscle fatigue?
asynchronously
What does the tension developed by each contracting muscle fibre depend on?
frequency of stimulation and summation of contrations as well as the lenght of muscle fibre at the onset of contraction
Why is it possible to summate twitches in SK muscle?
the duration of AP is much shorter tahn the duration of the resulting twitch
What is twitch summation?
when a muscle fibre is restimulated before it has completely relaxed and the second twitch is added onto the first twitch (increasing contraction)
What is tetanus?
maximal sustained contraction
When does tetanus occur?
if a muscle fibre is stimulated so rapidly that it does not ahve an opportunity to relac at al between stimuli
Why can cardiac muscle not be tetanise?
the AP takes as almost as long as the muscle contraction adn there is a long refractory period
What is the optimum length of musche?
the point of optimal overlap of thick and thing filmanet cross bridge binding sites and when maximal tetanic tension can be achieved
Is the resting length of SK muscle approx. its optimum length?
Yes
What are the 2 types of SK muscle contraction?
isotonic contraction and isometric contraction
What is the difference between isotonic and isometric contraction?
isotonic contraction is when muscle tension remains constant as the muscle length changes whereas in isometric, muscle tension develops at a constant muscle length
What is isotonic contraction used for?
body movements adn moving objects
What is isometric contraction used for??
supporting objects in fixed positions and for maintaining body posture
What determines how resistant to fatigue a muscle is?
the capacity of the fibre to synthesise ATP
What does the acivtiy of myosin ATPase determine in the muscle cell?
the speed at whic henergy is made available for cross bridge recycling- speed of contraction
What is the immediate source for ATP in muscle fibres?
transfer of high energy phosphates from creatine phosphate to ADP
What are the 3 types of SK muscle fibres?
type 1-slow oxidative
type 2a- fast oxidative
type 2x- fast glycolytic
What are type 1 fibres used for?
prolonged relatively low work aerobic activities
What are type 2x fibres used for?
short-term high intensity activities
What is the smplest monosynaptic spinal reflex?
stretch reflex
What is the purpose of the stretch reflex?
negative feedback that resists passive change in muscle length to maintain optimal resting length of muscle
What does activation of the stretch reflex result in?
contraction of the muscle
What effect does tapping a muscles tendon have?
rapidly stretches the muscle resulting in its contraction
What are the sensory receptors for the stretch reflex?
muscle spindles
What are muscle spindles?
a collection of specialised muscle fibres
What type of fibre are muscle spindles?
intrafusal
What is the sensory nerve ending found in muscle spindles called?
annulospiral fibres
What is the name of the special efferent nerve supply for muscle spindles?
gamma motor neurons
What is the function of the gamma motor neurons?
to adjust the level of tension in the muscle spindles to maintain their sensitivity when the muscle shorten during muscle contraction
What are symptoms of muscle disease?
muscle weakness/tiredness
delayed relaxation after voluntary contraction (myotonia)
myalgia
muscle stiffness
What type of axons do motor neurones have?
myelinated axons
Where are the cell bodies for motor neurones found?
spinal cord or brain stem
what type of axon does the motor neuron branch into near to the muscle?
unmyelinated
What does the motor neurone end with that forms a chemical synapse with the muslce membrane at the NMJ?
terminal bouton
What horn of the spinal cord are alpha motor neurons cell bodies found?
ventral horn
What region of the SK fibre does the bouton synpase?
endplate region
What is found in the terminal bouton?
ots of mitochondria and vesicles storing ACh
How are vesicles stored in the terminal bouton?
clustered awaiting release at active zones
Where are nicotinic ACh receptor found at the NMJ?
regions of hte junctional folds that face the active ones