Skeletal Muscle Physiology Flashcards
What types of muscle are smooth muscles
Skeletal and cardiac
What are muscle tissues capable of doing
developing tension and producing movement through contraction
What types of muscles are striated
skeletal and cardiac
What causes striation
Thin actin filaments and thick myosin filaments
What are skeletal muscles innervated by and what are they subject to
the somatic nervous system - subject to voluntary control
What are cardiac and smooth muscles innervated by and what does this result in
Autonomic nervous system - involuntary action
What are the 5 physiological functions of skeletal muscles
maintenance of POSTURE purposeful MOVEMENT in relation to external environment RESPIRATORY movements HEAT production contribution to WHOLE BODY METABOLISM
What are skeletal muscle fibres organised into?
motor units
what is a motor unit
a single alpha motor neuron and all the skeletal muscle fibres it innervates
Muscles which serve fine movements (external eye muscles, muscles of facial expression and intrinsic hand muscles) have fewer fibres per motor unit. True or false
True
When precision is more important than power, how many fibres per motor unit will there be
few
In what case will there be hundreds to thousands of fibres per motor unit
Power more important than precision
Gap junctions are present in skeletal muscle or cardiac muscle
cardiac muscle
What initiates contraction in skeletal muscle
neurogenic initiation
What initiates contraction of cardiac muscle
myogenic initiation
Where is there a neuromusclular junction present - skeletal or cardiac
Skeletal
Where does the Ca++ come from in skeletal muscles
sarcoplasmic reticulum
Where does the Ca++ come from in cardiac muscles
From ECF and sarcoplasmic reticulum
What is excitation contraction coupling
Process whereby the surface action potential results in activation of the contractile mechanism of the muscle fibre
When is Ca2+ released from the lateral sacs of the sarcoplasmic reticulum in Skeletal muscles
When the surface action potential spreads down the transverse tubules (T Tubules)
What are T tubules
Extensions of the surface membrane that dip into the muscle fibre
What is the transmitter at the neuromuscular junction
Acetylcholine
What triggers the release of Ca2+ from lateral sacs of sarcoplasmic reticulum
The spread of action potential down the T tubules
Transverse tubules are surrounded by what
Lateral sacs
Skeletal muscle consists of parallel muscle fibres bundled by what
connective tissue
Skeletal muscle fibres usually extend where
The entire length of the muscle
What usually attaches skeletal muscles to the skeleton
Tendons
What form lever systems
Bones, muscles and joints
What does each muscle fibre contain
Many myofibrils
Myofibrils have alternating segments of what
Thick and thin protein filaments
Actin and mysocin are arranged into what and what are these
Sarcomeres - these are the functional units of muscle
What is the functional unit of any organ
The smallest component capable of performing all the functions of that organ
What is the functional unit of skeletal muscle
Sarcomere
Where is a sarcomere found
Between 2 Z lines - connect the thin filaments of 2 adjoining sarcomeres
What are the 4 zones of the sarcomere
A band
H zone
M line
I band
What is the A band made up of
THick filaments along the portions of thin filaments that overlap in both ends of thick filaments
What is the H zone
the lighter area within the middle of the A band where thin filaments dont reach
Where does the M line extend
Vertically down middle of A band within the centre of H zone
What does the I band consist of
Remaining portion of thin filaments that do not project in A band
What produces muscle tension
Sliding of actin and filaments on myocin filaments
Force generation depends on what
ATP dependent interaction between thick and thin filaments
What is ATP required for
Both contraction and relaxation