Handout # 3 : The Muscular System

 Types of muscle tissue

o Striated muscle
 Skeletal muscle
 appear striped
 attached to bone
 made up of skel m. cells (fibers)
 cigar-shaped
 multinucleated
 the largest of the m. fiber types
 the only muscle type under voluntary control
 can contract rapidly and with great force
 tires easily
 responsible for locomotion
 Cardiac muscle
 arranged in spiral or figure 8-shape bundles
 cardiac m. fibers are
o elongated, branched
o joined by special junctions called intercalated disks which
o represents a specialized junction
o are seen as dark, transverse lines bet muscle fibers
 contraction is automatic, rhythmic, involuntary
o Smooth muscle
 has no striations
 cell is elongated, spindle-shaped
 contraction is slow and involuntary
 resistant to fatigue
 found in the walls of hallow visceral organs
 propels substances along a pathway
 made up of muscle fibers
 spindle shape
 single nucleus
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 arranged in layers (circular/longitudinal)

 alternate contraction/relaxation of the 2 layers changes the size/shape of
the organ
 Functions
o stabilizes joints
o generates heat
o maintains posture
o produces movement
 skeletal muscle: muscle contraction  movements of the body
 smooth muscle: muscle contraction  main internal body functions

 Microscopic Anatomy of Skeletal Muscle

o Muscle cell
 is longer than it is wide, therefore it is called muscle fiber or myofiber
 is specialized for contraction
 requires protein filaments called myofilaments
o Special Names of Cytoplasmic Structures in Muscle Fiber
 Sarcoplasm – cytoplasm
 Sarcolemma – plasma membrane
 Sarcosome – mitochondrion
 Sarcoplasmic reticulum – smooth endo. Reticulum
 Transverse tubules (T tubule)
 are folds of sarcolemma
 create channels thru which extracellular environ. extends deep inside
muscle cell
 provide rapid transmission of excitation to terminal sac

o Organization of Skeletal Muscle

 Myofibril
 smallest unit of contractile material
 is a bundle of myofilaments surrounded by an investment of sarco.
Reticulum
 Myofilaments
 are threadlike proteins
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 composed of
o thick filaments
 are made up of myosin
 also contains ATPase
 has a small projection at one end called myosin head or
cross bridge
o thin filaments
 composed of actin
 anchored to the Z line

 Muscle Fiber (muscle cell)

 is long, cylindrical, multinucleated
 contains bundles of myofibrils
 surrounded by endomysium
 Muscle Fascicle
 a bundle of muscle fibers
 surrounded by perimysium
 Whole Muscle
 contains many bundles of muscle fascicles
 surrounded by epimysium
 Epimyseum
 blends into the tendon or into an aponeurosis
 Tendon or aponeurosis
 attaches skel m. to the bone, cartilage or to CT coverings
 Tendon
o anchors muscle
o provides durability and conserves space bec it is mostly tough
collagen fibers and are small in size

SKELETAL MUSCLE ACTIVITY

 Physiology of Muscle Contraction
o properties of a muscle cell
 irritability – ability to receive and respond to a stimulus
 contractility – ability to shorten when an adequate stimulus is received
o Types of Muscle Contraction
 Isotonic (“same tone”)(“same tension”)
 there is sliding of myofilaments
 the muscle shortens
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 movement occurs
 example: bend knee, rotate arm, smile
 Isometric (“same length”)
 muscles do not shorten
 myofilaments try to slide but the muscle is pitted against an immovable
object
 example: pushing a wall with bent elbow

o Muscle tone
 the state of continuous partial m. contractions of some m. fibers even when the
m. is voluntarily relaxed
 its contraction is not visible
 makes m. firm, healthy, constantly ready for action
 Types of Exercise
o Aerobic (endurance) exercise
 result in stronger,more flexible muscles
 muscle does not increase in size
 muscles develop greater resistance to fatigue
 bring about increase blood supply to muscles  muscle cells form more
mitochon and store more O2

o Isometric (resistance) exercise

 muscles are pitted against some immovable object
 results in increased m. size due to enlargement of individual m. cells (more
contractile filaments)

MUSCLE MOVEMENTS, TYPES AND NAMES

 most common types of body movements

o flexion
 decrease the angle of the joint
 bring two bones closer together
o extension
 opposite of flexion
 increase the angle or distance between two bones or parts of the body
o rotation
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 movement of bone along its longitudinal axis

o abduction
 moving of a limb away from the midline or median plane, of the body
o adduction
 opposite of adduction
o circumduction
 combination of flexion, extension, abduction, adduction
 shoulder joint – proximal end of the limb is stationary while the distal end moves
in a circle
 special movements
o dorsiflexion and plantar flexion
 up and down movement of the foot at the ankle
 standing on your heels – dorsiflexion
 pointing the does – plantar flexion
o inversion and eversion
 inversion – turn foot medialy
 eversion – turn foot laterally
o supination and pronation
 supination – forearm rotates laterally so that palm faces anteriorly
 pronation – forearm rotates medially so that palm faces posteriorly
o opposition
 thumb touch the tips of the fingers of the same hand
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GROSS ANATOMY OF SKELETAL MUSCLES

 head muscles
o facial muscles
 frontalis – raise eyebrows; wrinkle forehead
 orbicularis oculi – closes eyes; squint; blink; wink
 orbicularis oris – closes mouth; protrude lips; “kissing muscle”
 buccinator – flattens the cheek (whistling)
 zygomaticus – “smiling muscle”
o chewing muscles
 buccinator
 masseter – closes the jaw by elevating the mandible
 tempralis – synergist of the massester
 neck muscles
o platysma – pulls the corners of the mouth inferiorly
o sternocleidomastoid – flexes neck
 trunk muscles
o anterior muscles
 pectoralis major – adduct and flex the arm
 intercostals muscles – depress the rib cage
 muscles of theabdominal girdle – protect eh abdominal contents
 rectus abdominis – flex vertebral column; compress the abdominal
contents during defecation and childbirth
 external oblique – flex vertebral column; rotate the trunk and bend it
laterally
 internal oblique – same as external oblique
 transverses abdominis – compresses the abdominal contents
o posterior muscles
 trapezius – extend the head; elevate, depress, adduct and stabilize the scapula
 latissumus dorsi – extends and adducts the humerus
 erector spinae – prime mover of back extension
 deltoid – prime movers of arm abduction
 muscles of the upper limb
o muscles that arise from shoulder girdle
 pectoralis major
 lattisimus dorsi
 deltoid
o muscles of the humerus that act on the forearm
 briceps brachii – flexion of the forearm and acts to supinate the forearm
 brachialis – elbow flexion
 brachioradialis
 triceps brachii – elbow extension
o muscled of the forearm
 flexor carpi and flexor digitorum muscles – flexion of the wrist and fingers
respectively
 extensor carpi and extensor digitorum – extends the wrist and fingers
respectively
 muscles of the lower limb
o muscles causing movement at the hip joint
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 gluteus maximus – hip extensor / extension

 gluteus medius – hip abductor; steadying the hip while walking
 iliopsoas – iliacus and psoas major
 hip flexion
 adductor muscles – adduct or press the thigh together
o muscles causing movement at the knee joint
 hamstring group
 biceps femoris
 semimembranosus
 semitendinosus
 sartorius – weak thigh flexor
 quadriceps group – knee extension
 rectus femoris and 3 vastus muscle
o muscles causing movement at the ankle and foot
 tibialis anterior – dorsiflex and invert the foot
 extensor digitorum longus – toe extension and a dorsiflexion of the foot
 fibularis muscles – plantar flexion and evertion of the foot
 longus; brevis; tertius
 gastrocnemius
 inserts in the Achilles tendon; plantar flexion
 soleus
 plantar flexor of the foot
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