Justine May Arcos

Muscle is a soft tissue found in most animals. Muscle cells contain protein filaments of actinand myosin that slide past
one another, producing a contraction that changes both the length and the shape of the cell. Muscles function to produce
force and motion. They are primarily responsible for maintaining and changing posture, locomotion, as well as movement
of internal organs, such as the contraction of the heart and the movement of food through the digestive
system via peristalsis.

Types
The body contains three types of muscle tissue: (a) skeletal muscle, (b) smooth muscle, and (c) cardiac muscle. (Same
magnification)
Muscle tissue is a soft tissue, and is one of the four fundamental types of tissue present in animals. There are three types
of muscle tissue recognized in vertebrates:

 Skeletal muscle or "voluntary muscle" is anchored by tendons (or by aponeuroses at a few places) to bone and is
used to effect skeletal movement such as locomotion and in maintaining posture. Though this postural control is
generally maintained as an unconscious reflex, the muscles responsible react to conscious control like non-postural
muscles. An average adult male is made up of 42% of skeletal muscle and an average adult female is made up of
36% (as a percentage of body mass).[5]
 Smooth muscle or "involuntary muscle" is found within the walls of organs and structures such as
the esophagus, stomach, intestines, bronchi, uterus, urethra, bladder, blood vessels, and the arrector piliin the skin
(in which it controls erection of body hair). Unlike skeletal muscle, smooth muscle is not under conscious control.
 Cardiac muscle (myocardium), is also an "involuntary muscle" but is more akin in structure to skeletal muscle, and is
found only in the heart.
Muscular system
The muscular system consists of all the muscles present in a single body. There are approximately 650 skeletal muscles
in the human body,[12] but an exact number is difficult to define. The difficulty lies partly in the fact that different sources
group the muscles differently and partly in that some muscles, such as palmaris longus, are not always present.
A muscular slip is a narrow length of muscle that acts to augment a larger muscle or muscles.
The muscular system is one component of the musculoskeletal system, which includes not only the muscles but also the
bones, joints, tendons, and other structures that permit movement.

The three types of muscle (skeletal, cardiac and smooth) have significant differences. However, all three use the
movement of actin against myosinto create contraction. In skeletal muscle, contraction is stimulated by electrical
impulses transmitted by the nerves, the motoneurons (motor nerves) in particular. Cardiac and smooth muscle
contractions are stimulated by internal pacemaker cells which regularly contract, and propagate contractions to other
muscle cells they are in contact with. All skeletal muscle and many smooth muscle contractions are facilitated by
the neurotransmitter acetylcholine.

Exercise is often recommended as a means of improving motor skills, fitness, muscle and bone strength, and joint
function. Exercise has several effects upon muscles, connective tissue, bone, and the nerves that stimulate the
muscles. One such effect is muscle hypertrophy, an increase in size. This is used in bodybuilding.

The biceps, also biceps brachii is a two-headed muscle that lies on the upper arm between the shoulder and the
elbow. Both heads arise on the scapula and join to form a single muscle belly which is attached to the upper
forearm. While the biceps crosses both the shoulder and elbow joints, its main function is at the elbow where it
flexes the forearm and supinates the forearm. Both these movements are used when opening a bottle with a
corkscrew: first biceps unscrews the cork (supination), then it pulls the cork out (flexion)
The triceps, also triceps brachii (Latin for "three-headed muscle of the arm"), is a large muscle on the back of the upper
limb of many vertebrates. It is the muscle principally responsible for extensionof the elbow joint (straightening of the arm).

Skeletal
relating to or functioning as a skeleton.