Hall: Guyton and Hall Textbook of Medical Physiology, 12th Edition

Chapter 06: Contraction of Skeletal Muscle

Test Bank
1.

A 28-year-old man has been training as a distance runner for the past six years.
Compared with a sprinter, which of the following is decreased in the skeletal muscles of
this athlete during resting conditions?
A. Capillary density
B. Glycolytic enzyme content
C. Mitochondrial volume density
D. Myoglobin content
E. Oxidative capacity

ANS: A
2. A physiology experiment is conducted in which a skeletal muscle twitch is initiated using
an electrical stimulator. Which factor contributes to the termination of a typical skeletal
muscle twitch?
A. Calcium uptake by sarcoplasmic reticulum
B. Closure of transverse tubules
C. Depletion of calcium stores from sarcoplasmic reticulum
D. Exhaustion of muscle ATP stores
E. Stimulation of dihydropyridine (DHP) receptors
ANS: A
3. A 24-year-old medical student goes to the local gym to lift weights. She begins by benchpressing 100 pounds as a warm-up procedure and then gradually increases the weight.
Which of the following occurs as she adds more weight?
A. Decreased frequency of motor nerve action potentials
B. Decreased velocity of motor nerve action potentials
C. Increased frequency of motor nerve action potentials
D. Increased velocity of motor nerve action potential
E. Involvement of fewer motor units
ANS: C
4. A 24-year-old woman is admitted to the emergency department after an automobile
accident in which lacerations to the left wrist severed a major tendon. The severed ends
of the tendon were overlapped by 6 cm to facilitate suturing and reattachment. Which of
the following characteristics would be expected after six weeks compared with the preinjured muscle? Assume that series growth of sarcomeres cannot be completed within six
weeks.
Passive tension
A. Decrease

Maximal active tension

Decrease

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B.
C.
D.
E.

Decrease
Increase
Increase
No change

6-2

No

Increase
Increase
Decrease
change

ANS: D
5. During the contraction of a
skeletal muscle fiber, the actin and myosin filaments
slide past each other. Which of
the following represent expected changes in the
widths of I-bands and A-bands
during the contraction process?
I-band width
A-band width
A.

B.

C.

D.

150
E.

ANS: D
6. When a person lifts a 25-pound
involved?
A. Isometric contraction only
B. Isotonic contraction only
C. Isometric contraction
D. Isotonic contraction

weight, what type or types of muscle contraction are

followed by isotonic contraction

followed by isometric contraction

ANS: C
7. The length-tension diagram
shown was obtained from a
skeletal muscle with equal
numbers of red and white
fibers. Supramaximal tetanic Tension
stimuli were used to initiate an (grams)
isometric contraction at each
100
muscle length studied. The
resting length was 20 cm. What
is the maximum amount of
active tension this muscle is
capable of generating at a
preload of 100 grams?
A. 145 to 155 grams
B. 25 to 35 grams
C. 55 to 65 grams
D. 95 to105 grams
E. Cannot be determined

10

20
30
Length (cm)

Copyright 2011, 2006 by Saunders, an imprint of Elsevier Inc.

40

50
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6-3

ANS: C
8. The diagram shows the relationship between muscle tension and sarcomere length for
muscle. Which point on the curve represents tension development
at a normal resting length for skeletal muscle?
C
ANS: C

Tension

D
A

E
Length

0
9. The diagram shows the relationship between muscle tension and sarcomere length for
muscle. Which point on the curve represents tension development
C
at a normal resting length for cardiac muscle?
ANS: B

B
Tension
D

E
Length

10. A 29-year-old woman has been training as a distance runner for the past five years.
Which set of changes best describes the skeletal muscles of this woman compared with a
sprinter?
Capillary density
Oxidative capacity Myoglobin content Fiber diameter

Copyright 2011, 2006 by Saunders, an imprint of Elsevier Inc.

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A.
B.
C.
D.
E.

6-4
Decreased
Decreased
Decreased
Increased
Increased
Decreased
Increased
Decreased
Increased
Increased

Decreased

Decreased

Decreased

Increased

Increased

Decreased

Increased

Increased

Increased

Increased

ANS: D
11. The length-tension diagram
shown on the right was obtained
300
from a skeletal muscle with
equal numbers of red and white
Tension
fibers. Supramaximal tetanic
stimuli were used to initiate an (grams)
isometric contraction at each
muscle length studied. What are
the values in grams of preload,
active tension, and total tension
when the muscle length is 60
cm?
Preload
Active
tension
Total tension
A.
100
200
B.
100
300
C.
150
250
D.
200
100
E.
200
200

20

40
60
Length (cm)

300
200
300
300
300
200

ANS: A
12. A 45-year-old man goes to the
pressing 130 pounds as a warmweight. Which of the following
Activation of motor
potentials
A.
Decreased
B.
Decreased
C.
Decreased
D.
Increased

local gym to lift weights. He begins by benchup procedure and then gradually increases the
sets of changes occur as he adds more weight?
units
Frequency of motor nerve action
Decreased
Increased
No change
Decreased

Copyright 2011, 2006 by Saunders, an imprint of Elsevier Inc.

80

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E.
F.

6-5
Increased
Increased

Increased
No change

ANS: E

13.

The skeletal muscle sarcomere normally has a

narrow range of lengths in vivo, but sarcomere
length can vary greatly in vitro under non0 shows
physiological conditions. The diagram
sarcomeres at various lengths. At which length
can the sarcomere exert its maximum force
during an isometric contraction?
A. 1.6 m
B. 2.1 m
C. 2.8 m
D. 3.0 m
E. 3.5 m

ANS: B

14.

1.6
2.02.3
m
mm

3.7 m

The diagram shows the relationship between contraction velocity and force. Which of the
following muscles is most likely to correspond to
muscle number 1 shown on the diagram (assume that
1
all muscles shown are at their normal resting
lengths).
Contraction
velocity
A.
4
5
B.
3
0

Copyright 2011, 2006 by Saunders, an imprint of Elsevier Inc.

Force

Test Bank

6-6

C.
D.
E.
ANS: E

15.

The diagram shows the relationship between

contraction velocity and force. Which of the
following muscles is most likely to correspond to
muscle number 2 shown on the diagram (assume Contraction
that all muscles shown are at their normal resting velocity
lengths)?

A.
B.
C.

3
0

Force

D.
E.
ANS: D
16.

The diagram shows force-velocity relationships for three

different skeletal muscles. Which of the following curves
most likely correspond to glycolytic, oxidative, and
mixed muscle types?
Contraction
Glycolytic
Oxidative
Mixed
velocity
A. X
Y
Z
B. X
Z
Y
C. Y
X
Z
D. Y
Z
X
E. Z
X
Y
F. Z
Y
X

ANS: B

Copyright 2011, 2006 by Saunders, an imprint of Elsevier Inc.

X
Y
Z
0

Force

Test Bank
17.

6-7

The dark color of red skeletal muscle (slow twitch muscle) can be attributed to a relative
abundance of which of the following compared to white skeletal muscle (fast twitch
muscle)?
A. Blood capillaries
B. Mitochondria
C. Myoglobin
D. Myosin ATPase
E. Oxidative enzymes

ANS: C

Copyright 2011, 2006 by Saunders, an imprint of Elsevier Inc.