MUSCULAR SYSTEM

FUNCTIONS
1. Movement contraction of skeletal muscles is responsible for the overall movements of
the body
2. Maintenance of posture
3. Respiration muscles of thorax carry out movements necessary for respiration
4. Production of body heat
5. Communication
6. Constriction of organs and vessels
7. Contraction of heart
CHARACTERISTICS
Skeletal muscle
40% of body weight
Most muscles are attached to the skeletal system, thus the name
Also called striated muscle because transverse bands (or striations) can be seen in
the muscle under the microscope
4 major functional characteristics:
o Contractility ability to shorten with force
o Excitability ability to respond to stimulus
o Extensibility to stretch
o Elasticity to recoil to their original length after stretching
Structure:
o Connective tissue coverings of muscle
Epimysium (aka muscular fascia) connective tissue sheath
surrounding each skeletal muscle
Perimysium divides whole muscles into visible bundles called
fasciculi
Endomysium loose connective tissue that subdivides each fascicle
into separate muscle cells
o Muscle fiber structure
Sarcolemma cell membrane of muscle fiber
Transverse tubules (or T tubules) tube-like invaginations found at
the surface of the sarcolemma; occur at regular intervals along the
muscle fiber and extend inward into it
Sarcoplasmic reticulum highly organized smooth endoplastic
reticulum; has a high calcium concentration plays a major role in
muscle contraction
Sarcoplasm cytoplasm inside each muscle fiber
Myofibrils threadlike structures that extend from one end to the
other; consists of 2 major kinds of protein fibers (actin and myosin)
Sarcomeres highly-ordered, repeating units where actin and
myosin myofilaments are arranged to form the myofibrils
o Actin and myosin myofilaments
Made up of 3 components: actin, troponin, tropomyosin
Actin strands have attachment sites for myosin
myofilaments
Troponin molecules attached along the actin myofilaments
at specific intervals; have binding sites for calcium
Tropomyosin filaments located at the groove between
twisted strands of actin myofilaments in an unstimulated
muscle

Myosin myofilaments (thick myofilaments) - resemble golf

club heads
Sarcomeres basic unit of skeletal muscle; smallest portion of skeletal
muscle capable of contraction
Each sarcomere extends from one Z disk to an adjacent Z disk
Z disk network of protein fibers forming an attachment site for actin
myofilaments
I band light; consists only of actin myofilaments; spans each Z
disk and ends at myosin myofilaments
A band dark, central region; extends the length of the myosin
myofilaments
H zone second light zone; consists only of myosin myofilaments
M line myosin myofilaments are anchored in the center of the
sarcomere in this dark-staining band

Excitability of muscle fibers

o Cell membrane is polarized; inside of the membrane is negatively charged while
the outside is positively charged
o Resting membrane potential charge difference; occurs because there is an
uneven distribution of ions in the cell membrane
Reasons why resting membrane potential develop:
Concentration of potassium inside the cell membrane is higher
than the outside cell membrane
Concentration of sodium outside is higher than inside
The cell membrane is more permeable to K than it is to Na
o Types of ion channels:
Nongated (or leaked) always open
Chemically gated closed until a chemical binds to them and stimulates
them to open
o Some K channels are open, Na are closed (because excitable cells contain K in
them and are nongated channels)
o Negatively charged molecules (like proteins) are in essence trapped inside the
cell because the cell membrane is impermeable to them; thus making the inside
of the cell membrane more negatively charged than the outside
o Change in resting membrane potential is achieved by changes in membrane
permeability to Na or K ions
o Stimulation in a muscle fiber or nerve cell causes Na channels to open quickly
and the membrane becomes very permeable to Na for a brief time
o Depolarization change in membrane potential
o Repolarization change back to resting membrane
o Action potential rapid depolarization and repolarization of the cell membrane
Nerve supply and muscle fiber stimulation
o Motor neurons specialized nerve cells that stimulate muscles to contract
o Neuromuscular junction muscle fiber where neuron branches forms a junction
with; located near the center of a muscle fiber; formed by a cluster of enlarged
axon terminals resting in the muscles cell membrane
o Synapse cell to cell junction between a nerve cell and either another nerve cell
or an effector cell
o Motor unit a single motor neuron and all its skeletal muscle fibers; the fewer
fibers there are in a motor unit of a muscle, the greater control you have over that
muscle

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Presynaptic terminal enlarged axon terminal

Synaptic cleft space between the presynaptic terminal and the muscle fiber
membrane
Postsynaptic membrane muscle fiber membrane
Synaptic vesicles small vesicles found in each presynaptic terminal
Acetylcholine (Ach) neurotransmitter in the synaptic vesicles; neurotransmitters
stimulates or inhibits a postsynaptic cell
When an action potential reaches the presynaptic terminal, it causes Ca
channels to open; calcium ions enter the terminal and cause several synaptic
vesicles to release acetylcholine into the synaptic cleft by exocytosis;
acetylcholine when combined to its receptor can open Na channels therefore
making the cell membrane more permeable to Na an action potential will be
initiated
Acetylcholinesterase enzyme that breaks down acetylcholine; ensures that only
one action potential can take place

Muscle contraction
o Contractions of skeletal muscle occurs as actin and myosin slide past one
another, causing sarcomeres to shorten
o Sliding filament model sliding of actin myofilaments past myosin myofilaments
during contraction
o During contraction, neither actin nor myosin shortens. H zones and I bands
shorten during contraction, but A bands do not change in length.
o In muscle relaxation, sarcomeres lengthen; but this lengthening requires an
opposing force
o Cross-bridges formed by the binding of actin to the heads of myosin
o Energy for muscle contraction is supplied in the form of adenosine triphosphate
o ATP high energy molecule produced from energy released during metabolism
of food; energy is released as ATP breaks down to adenosine diphosphate and
phosphate
o In contraction, energy from ATP is stored in the myosin head; this energy is used
to move heads of the myosin to the center of the sarcomere, causing the actin to
slide past the myosin (in this process, ADP and P is released from myosin heads)
o The cross bridge is released everytime a new ATP molecule attaches to the
myosin head, and the myosin returns to its original position, so it can later attach
to the next site (A new ATP must bind to myosin before cross-bridge can be
released)
o The cycle of cross-bridge formation, movement and release repeats as long as
Ca remains attached to troponin, and as long as ATP is available
o When a person dies, ATP wont be available anymore, and the cross-bridge
formed wont be released this can cause the muscles to become rigid; this
condition is called rigor mortis (stiffness + death)
o Not all the energy from ATP in contraction of muscles is required for formation
and movement of cross-bridges, part of it will be released as heat; this heat
released during increases body temperature (explains why we become warmer in
exercise)
Shivering a type of generalized muscle contraction is our bodys way of
dealing with cold; the muscle movement when we shiver produces heat
o Muscle relaxation occurs as Ca is actively transported back into the
sarcoplasmic reticulum (this process requires ATP); in muscle relaxation,
attachment sites on actin molecules will be covered with tropomyosin so crossbridges wont reform
Muscle twitch, summation, tetanus, and recruitment

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Muscle twitch contraction of muscle in response to a stimulus; involves all the

muscle fibers in a motor unit
3 phases:
Lag phase (latent phase) time between application of a stimulus
and beginning of contraction
Contraction phase time during which a muscle contracts
Relaxation phase time during which the muscle relaxes
During the lag phase, one or more motor neurons are produced; an action
potential travels along the axon of a motor neuron to a neuromuscular junction.
Once the stimulus reaches the neuromuscular junction, acetylcholine must be
released from the presynaptic terminal, diffuse across the synaptic cleft, and bind
to receptors that allow entry of Na which initiates an action potential on the
postsynaptic membrane. Before the contraction phase can occur, the action
potential must result in the release of Ca from the sarcoplasmic reticulum and
formation of cross-bridges
Contraction phase results from movement and cycling
Relaxation phase Ca is actively transported back into the sarcoplasmic
reticulum as Ca diffuses away, tropomyosin again blocks the attachment sites
to prevent cross-bridge
The force of contraction a muscle produces is increased in 2 ways:
Summation increasing the force of contraction of muscle fibers within
the muscle by rapidly stimulating them
Recruitment involves increasing the number of muscle fibers
contracting
Summation:
Stimulus frequency number of times a motor neuron is stimulated per
second
When stimulus frequency is low, there is time b=for complete relaxation
of muscle fibers between muscle twitches
As it increases, there is not enough time between contractions for a
muscle fiber to relax completely
Thus, one contraction summates (or is added onto) a previous
contraction as a result, the overall force of contraction increases
Tetanus a sustained contraction that occurs when the frequency of
stimulation is so rapid that no relaxation occurs (but complete tetanus
rarely achieved under normal circumstances; its more commonly an
experimentally induced muscular response)
Increased force of contraction produced I summation and tetanus occurs
because Ca builds up in myofibrils which promotes cross-bridge
formation and cycling (remember: buildup of Ca occurs because of the
rapid production of action potentials in muscle fibers causes Ca to be
released from the sarcoplasmic reticulum faster than it is transported
back)
Recruitment:
Number of muscle fibers contracting is increased by increasing the
number of motor units stimulated and the muscle contracts with more
force
When only a few motors are stimulated, as mall force of contraction is
produced because only a small number of muscle fibers are contracting
As number of motor units increase, more muscle fibers are stimulated,
force of contraction increases
Maximum force of contraction is achieved in a given muscle when all the
motor units of that muscle are recruited

 Fiber types slow-twitch or fast-twitch (based on differences in rod portion of the myosin)
o Slow-twitch contain type I myosin as the predominant or exclusive type;
contract more slowly
o Fast-twitch contain either type IIa or IIb myosin filaments; contract quickly (type
2b are the fastest (10x faster than type I fibers of slow-twitch; type 2a is an
intermediate speed)
o The 3 myosin types mentioned is the product of a different myosin gene
o Advantage of slow-twitch: it can sustain the contraction longer
Energy requirements for muscle contraction
Ways of deriving ATP from skeletal muscle:
1. Aerobic production (with oxygen) during exercise and normal conditions
2. Anaerobic production (no oxygen) during intensive short-term work
3. Conversion of a molecule called creatine phosphate to ATP
4. Conversion of 2 ADP to one ATP and one AMP (adenosine monophosphate)
during heavy exercise
Aerobic respiration
-Occurs mostly in mitochondria, requires oxygen and breaks down glucose to
form ATP, carbon dioxide, and water. It can also process lipids or amino acids to
make ATP. (slow-twitch fibers work aerobically)
-includes low intensity and long exercises
Anaerobic respiration
doesnt require oxygen, breaks down glucose to produce ATP and lactate (fasttwitch fibers work anaerobically)
-high intensity and short exercises

Exercise is not usually exclusive as anaerobic or aerobic they both

contribute (anaerobic respiration produces lactate lactate is given to
adjacent aerobic respiration pathways lactate is either converted into
ATP or secreted into blood for uptake by other tissues to make new
glucose)
Lactic acid was considered a harmful waste product before; now its
alternate chemical form, lactate, is now recognized
Lactate formed particularly during exercise by skeletal muscles
broken down (70-75%) or used to make new glucose (30-35%)
Aerobic and anaerobic mechanisms of ATP production are linked through
lactate
Aerobic is much more efficient than anaerobic, but it takes several
minutes. The breakdown of glucose in aerobic respiration produces 18x
more ATP than anaerobic pathways. Aerobic respiration is also more
flexible because of its ability to break down lipids and amino acids to
form ATP
Anaerobic, on the other hand, produces less ATP, but in a matter of
seconds only, unlike the minutes of aerobic pathways. However, one
cant sustain an anaerobic activity for a long time
Since muscles cant store ATP, they store a different high energy
molecule creatine phosphate that provides a means of storing energy
that can be used rapidly to maintain adequate ATP
During rest, excess ATP is produced it is used to synthesize creatine
phosphate
During exercise, the small ATP reserve is rapidly consumed. Creatine
phosphate is then broken down to synthesize back ATP some of these
ATP is immediately used, some is for restoring the lost ATP

When too strenuous activity is being performed, and the creatine

phosphate is not enough to provide ATP, anaerobic respiration
predominates
If the use of ATP is greater than its production, the ATP:ADP ratio
decreases and interferes with the functioning of all the major ATPdependent enzymes in muscle fibers like myosin head, sarcoplasmic
reticulum, calcium reuptake pump, and Na/K pump
If ATP:ADP ratio declines, an enzyme transfers one phosphate from one
ADP to another ADP, generating one ATP and one AMP (presence of
AMP triggers a switch from anaerobic respiration to aerobic respiration)
Failure of this switch to occur, causes fatigue
After intense exercise, respiratory rate and volume remain elevated
(even when muscles arent active anymore). This is to increase
respiratory activity to provide oxygen to pay back oxygen deficit.
(magnitude of oxygen deficit depends on the intensity of the exercise,
length of time, and physical condition of individual)
Recovery oxygen consumption amount of oxygen needed in chemical
reactions occur to:
1. Convert lactate to glucose
2. Replenish depleted ATP and creatine phosphate stores in
muscle fibers
3. Replenish oxygen stores in lungs, blood, and muscles
After lactate produced by anaerobic respiration is converted to glucose
and creatine phosphate levels are restored: respiration rate returns to
normal

Fatigue temporary state of reduced work capacity; without fatigue, muscles woul be worked
to the point of damage to them
o Buildup of lactic acid and drop in pH was said to be the cause of fatigue before
o Now, its established that there are multiple mechanisms underlying fatigue:
1. Acidosis and ATP depletion due to either increased ATP consumption or
decreased ATP production
2. Oxidative stress buildup of excess reactive oxygen species (free
radicals)
3. Local inflammatory reactions
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Acidosis and ATP depletion

Anaerobic respiration results in breakdown of glucose to lactate and
protons, for lowered pH. Lowered pH has several cellular effects (decreased
effectiveness of Ca on actin, and overall less Ca release from the
sarcoplasmic reticulum). Lactic acidosis can also result when liver
malfunction results in reduced clearance of lactate (using lactate to produce
glucose). Usually, increased lactate levels are due to increased anaerobic
respiration production of ATP when aerobic respiration production of ATP is
reduced. Increase in lactate is also seen in patients with mitochondrial
disorders and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

Oxidative stress
During intense exercise, increases in ROS production cause the
breakdown of lipids, proteins or nucleic acids. ROS also trigger an
immune system chemical, interleukin (IL-6). IL-6 is a mediator of
inflammation which is most likely to cause soreness

Inflammation

IL-6 can also cause inflammation. The immune system is directly

activated by exercise. T lymphocytes, a type of WBC, migrate into
heavily worked muscles. Presence of immune system intermediates
increases the perception of pain, which is a signal to protect tissues from
further damage
Muscle can become incapable of either contracting or relaxing.
This is called the physiological contracture, and it occurs when there is
too little ATP to bind myosin myofilaments ATP needs to bind to myosin
for cross-bridge of actin and myosin to be released if cross-bridge cant
be released, muscle cannot relax.
Psychological fatigue is the most common type of fatigue; it
involves the CNS rather than the muscles. Muscles are still capable,
individual just thinks its not anymore capable.