The Muscular System

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Functions and Types of Muscles

o Smooth Muscle
• Located in the walls of hollow organs
and blood vessels
• Involuntary contraction
• Moves materials through organs and
regulates blood flow
• Cylindrical cells with pointed ends
• Each cell is uninucleate
Functions and Types of Muscles

o Cardiac Muscle
• Forms the heart wall
• Fibers are uninucleated, striated,
tubular, and branched
• Fibers interlock at intercalated disks,
which permit contractions to spread
quickly throughout the heart
• Contraction does not require outside
nervous stimulation
• Nerves do affect heart rate and
strength of contraction
Functions and Types of Muscles

o Skeletal Muscle
• Fibers are tubular, multinucleated,
and striated
• Make up muscles attached to the
skeleton
• Contraction is voluntary
Functions of Skeletal Muscles

• Support the body

• Make bones and other body parts
move
• Help maintain a constant body
temperature
• Assists movement in cardiovascular
and lymphatic vessels
• Help protect bones and internal
organs, and stabilize joints
Connective Tissue Coverings of Skeletal Muscle

• Endomysium

Thin layer of areolar connective tissue

Surrounds each skeletal muscle fiber
• Perimysium – surrounds bundles of
muscle fibers (fascicles)
• Epimysium

Layer that surrounds the entire muscle

Becomes part of the fascia (separates
muscles from each other)

Collagen fibers extend from epimysium to
form tendons that attach muscles to bone
Microscopic Anatomy

o Muscle fiber components

• Sarcolemma – plasma membrane
• Sarcoplasm – cytoplasm

Contains glycogen that provides energy for muscle
contraction

Contains myoglobin which binds oxygen until
needed
• Sarcoplasmic reticulum – endoplasmic
reticulum
• T (transverse) tubules

Formed by the sarcolemma penetrating into the
cell

Come into contact with expanded portions of the
sarcoplasmic reticulum
Microscopic Anatomy

o Myofibrils and Sarcomeres

• Myofibrils run the length of the muscle fiber
• Composed of numerous sarcomeres

Extends between two vertical Z lines

Contains two types of protein myofilaments
 Thick filaments – made up of myosin
 Thin filaments – made up of actin, tropomyosin, and
troponin

I band contains only thin filaments

A band in the center of the sarcomere contains
thick and thin filaments

H zone in the center of the A band has only
myosin filaments
Microscopic Anatomy

o Myofilaments
• Thick filaments

Composed of several hundred of
molecules of myosin

Myosin molecules end in a cross-bridge
• Thin filaments

Two strands of actin

Double strands of tropomyosin coil of
each actin strand

Troponin occurs at intervals on the
tropomyosin strand
Microscopic Anatomy

• Sliding Filament Model


Occurs when sarcomeres shorten (during
muscle contraction)

Actin filaments slide past the myosin
filaments

Thick and thin filaments remain the same
length
Contraction of Skeletal Muscle

o Neuromuscular junction
• Axon terminals

Come into close proximity to the
sarcolemma

Have vesicles that contain acetylcholine
(Ach)
• Synaptic cleft – a small gap that
separates the axon from the
sarcolemma
Fig 7.4
Contraction of Skeletal Muscle

o Steps involved in skeletal muscle

contraction
• Nerve signal arrives at the axon terminal
• The synaptic vesicles release Ach
• Ach binds to receptors on the sarcolemma
• The sarcolemma generates a signal that
travels down the T tubules to the SR
• The SR releases calcium
• Calcium from the SR causes the filaments to
slide past one another
Contraction of Skeletal Muscle

o The Role of Actin and Myosin

• Myosin binding sites on actin
molecules

Covered by tropomyosin when muscle is
relaxed

Released calcium combines with troponin
and myosin binding sites are exposed
• Cross-bridges of myosin have two
binding sites

One site binds to ATP

Second binding site binds to actin
Contraction of Skeletal Muscle

o Energy for Muscle Contraction

• ATP present before strenuous exercise
only lasts a few seconds
• Muscles acquire new ATP in three
ways

Creatine phosphate breakdown

Cellular respiration

Fermentation
Contraction of Skeletal Muscle

Creatine Phosphate Breakdown


Does not require oxygen (anaerobic)

Regenerates ATP by transferring its phosphate to
ADP

Fastest way to make ATP available to muscles

ATP produced only lasts about 8 seconds
Contraction of Skeletal Muscle
• Cellular Respiration

Usually provides most of a muscle’s ATP

Uses glucose from stored glycogen and fatty acids from
stored fats

Required oxygen

Myoglobin can make oxygen available to muscle
mitochondria

Carbon dioxide and water are end products

Heat is a by-product
Contraction of Skeletal Muscle

• Fermentation

Anaerobic process

Produces ATP for short bursts of exercise

Glucose is broken down to lactate (lactic acid)
Contraction of Skeletal Muscle

o Oxygen Debt
• Occurs when muscles use
fermentation to supply ATP
• Requires replenishing creatine
phosphate supplies and disposing of
lactic acid
Contraction of Smooth Muscle

o Smooth muscle fibers contain thick and

thin filaments
• Filaments are not arranged into myofibrils
that create striations
• Thin filaments are anchored to the
sarcolemma or dense bodies
o When contracted, the elongated cells
become shorter and wider
o Contraction occurs very slowly
o Contractions can last for long periods
of time without fatigue
Muscle Responses in the Laboratory

o All-or-none law – a muscle fiber

contracts completely or not at all
o A whole muscle shows degrees of
contraction
• Muscle twitch – a single contraction that
lasts only a fraction of a second

Latent period

Contraction period

Relaxation period
• Summation – increased muscle contraction
• Tetanic contraction – maximal sustained
contraction
Muscular Responses
Threshold Stimulus
• minimal strength required to cause contraction

Recording a Muscle
Contraction
• twitch
• latent period
• period of contraction
• period of relaxation
• refractory period
• all-or-none response
Summation
• process by which individual twitches combine
• produces sustained contractions
• can lead to tetanic contractions
Muscle Responses in the Laboratory

o Fatigue
• Muscle relaxes even though
stimulation continues
• Reasons for fatigue

ATP is depleted

Accumulation of lactic acid in the
sarcoplasm inhibits muscle function

ACh may become depleted
Muscle Responses in the Body

o Motor unit
• A nerve fiber together with all of the muscle
fibers it innervates
• Obeys the all-or-none law
o Recruitment
• As the intensity of nervous stimulation
increases, more motor units are activated
• Results in stronger muscle contractions
o Tone
• Some muscle fibers are always contracting
• Important in maintaining posture
Muscle Responses in the Body

o Athletics and muscle contraction

• Size of muscles

Atrophy – a decrease in muscle size

Hypertrophy – an increase in muscle size
• Slow-twitch fibers (Type I fibers)

Tend to be aerobic

Have more endurance

Have many mitochondria

Dark in color because they contain
myoglobin

Highly resistant to fatigue
Muscle Responses In the Body

• Fast-twitch fibers (Type II fibers)


Tend to be anaerobic

Designed for strength

Light in color

Have fewer mitochondria, little or no
myoglobin, and fewer blood vessels than
fast-twitch fibers

Vulnerable to accumulation of lactic acid
and can fatigue easily
Skeletal Muscles of the Body

o Basic Principles
• Origin – attachment of a muscle to
the immovable bone
• Insertion – attachment of a muscle to
the bone that moves
• Prime mover – muscle that does most
of the work in a movement
• Synergist – muscles that assist the
prime mover
• Antagonists – muscles that work
opposite one another to bring about
movement in opposite directions
Skeletal Muscles of the Body

o Naming Muscles
• Size
• Shape
• Direction of fibers
• Location
• Attachment
• Number of attachments
• Action
Skeletal Muscles of the Body

o Muscles of the Head

• Muscles of Facial
Expression

Frontalis

Orbicularis oculi Fig 7.13


Orbicularis oris

Buccinator

Zygomaticus
• Muscles of Mastication

Masseter muscles

Temporalis muscles
Skeletal Muscles of the Body

o Muscles of the Neck

• Swallowing

Tongue and buccinators

Suprahyoid and infrahyoid muscles

Palatini muscles

Pharyngeal constrictor muscles
• Muscles that move the head

Sternocleidomastoid

Trapezius muscles
Skeletal Muscles of the Body

o Muscles of the Trunk

• Muscles of the thoracic wall

External intercostal muscles

Diaphragm

Internal intercostal muscles
• Muscles of the abdominal wall

External and internal obliques

Transversus abdominis

Rectus abdominis
Skeletal Muscles of the Body

o Muscles of the Shoulder (Table 7.4)

• Muscles that move the scapula

Trapezius

Serratus anterior
• Muscles that move the arm

Deltoid

Pectoralis major

Latissimus dorsi

Rotator cuff muscles
 Supraspinatus
 Infraspinatus
 Teres minor
 Subscapularis
Fig 7.15
Skeletal Muscles of the Body

o Muscles of the Arm

• Biceps brachii
• Brachialis
• Triceps brachii
o Muscles of the Forearm
• Flexor carpi and extensor carpi
• Flexor digitorum and extensor
digitorum
Tab. 7.4
Skeletal Muscles of the Body

o Muscles of the Hip and Lower Limb

(Table 7.5)
• Muscles that move the thigh

Iliopsoas

Gluteus maximus

Gluteus medius

Adductor group muscles
 Pectineus
 Adductor longus
 Adductor magnus
 Gracilis
Skeletal Muscles of the Body

• Muscles that move the leg


Quadriceps femoris group
 Rectus femoris
 Vastus lateralis
 Vastus medialis
 Vastus intermedius

Sartorius

Hamstring group
 Biceps femoris
 Semimembranosus
 Semitendinosus
Skeletal Muscles of the Body

• Muscles that move the ankle and foot


Gastrocnemius

Tibialis anterior

Fibularis longus

Fibularis brevis

Flexor and extensor digitorum longus
Tab. 7.5
Effects of Aging

o Muscle mass and strength tend to

decrease
o Endurance decreases
o Exercise at any age can stimulate
muscle buildup
Homeostasis

o Cardiac muscle contraction forces blood into

the arteries and arterioles
o Smooth muscle in arteries and arterioles help
maintain blood pressure
o Smooth muscle contraction moves food along
the digestive tract and assists in the voiding of
urine
o Skeletal muscles protect internal organs and
stabilizes joints
o Skeletal muscles are active during breathing
o Heat produced by skeletal muscle contraction
helps maintain normal body temperature
o Skeletal muscle contraction allows us to
relocate our bodies