Muscle Introduction Additional Functions

• Muscles, derived from the Latin word • Skeletal muscles form voluntary
mus, meaning "little mouse," are the controllable valves that regulate
dominant tissue in the heart and other substance passage, dilate and constrict
organs. pupils, and protect fragile internal organs.
• They make up nearly half the body's
mass and are responsible for all body Muscle Types
movements.
• Muscles' unique function is to contract or • Skeletal, smooth, and cardiac muscle
shorten, making them the "machines" of tissues differ in cell structure, location,
the body. and contracting stimulation.
• Skeletal and smooth muscle cells are
Muscle Function referred to as muscle fibers.
All muscle produce movement but skeletal • Muscle contraction depends on two
muscle plays three other important roles types of myofilaments, muscle cell
in the body as well equivalents of cytoskeleton
microfilaments.
• Muscles are referred to by prefixes myo-
Produce Movement or mys- ("muscle") or sarco- ("flesh"). For
• Skeletal muscles are responsible for instance, cytoplasm in muscle cells is
body's mobility, including locomotion and called sarcoplasm.
manipulating objects.
• They enable quick response to external
changes and express emotions through Skeletal Muscle
silent language. • Packaged into organs called skeletal
• Distinct from smooth muscle of blood muscles, they cover the bone and
vessel walls and cardiac muscle of the cartilage framework, forming body
heart, which circulate blood and maintain contours.
blood pressure.

Maintain Posture and Body Position

• Skeletal muscles continuously adjust
posture to maintain erect or seated
position.
• They stabilize joints of the skeleton,
reinforcing poorly articulating surfaces like
the shoulder and knee joints.

Generate Heat
• Skeletal muscle activity generates body • Large, cigar-shaped, multinucleate cells,
heat as a by-product, vital for maintaining some up to 30 cm in length.
normal body temperature. • Also known as striated muscle due to
• Skeletal muscle accounts for at least stripes, and voluntary muscle due to
40% of body mass, making it the most conscious control.
responsible muscle type for generating • Can be activated by reflexes without
heat willed command.
• Can contract rapidly and with great

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force, but tires easily and requires rest and emptying the bowels and bladder.
after short periods of activity. • Contraction is slow and sustained, akin
to a marathoner running slowly but
Skeletal Muscle Structure and maintaining pace.
Functions
• Muscle fibers are enclosed in
endomysium, wrapped by perimysium to
form fascicles.
• An epimysium covers the entire muscle,
binding fascicles together.
• Ends of the epimysium blend into a Description: Smooth muscle tissue
strong tendon or aponeurosis, indirectly consists of fibers usually involuntary,
attaching the muscle to bone or cartilage. nonstriated (lack striations, hence the
• Tendons provide durability and space term smooth). It has Gap junctions Can
conservation, crossing rough bony produce powerful contractions as many
projections. muscle fibers. Location: Iris of eyes; walls
• Due to their small size, more tendons of hollow internal structures such as blood
than fleshy muscles can pass over a joint. vessels, airways to lungs, stomach,
• Muscles vary in fiber arrangement, from intestines, gallbladder, urinary bladder,
spindle-shaped to fan or circle-shaped. and uterus. Function: Motion (constriction
of blood vessels and airways)

Cardiac Muscle
• Found in the heart, it forms the bulk of
the heart walls.
• Functions as a pump, propelling blood
through blood vessels to all body tissues.
• Strained, uninucleate, and controlled
involuntary.
• Cardiac cells are cushioned by
endomysium and arranged in spiral
bundles.
• Heart contractions force blood into large
arteries leaving the heart.
• Cardiac muscle fibers are branching cells
joined by intercalated discs.
Smooth Muscle Overview • Contracts at a steady rate set by the
• Involuntary, nonstriated, and found in heart’s pacemaker.
hollow organs like stomach, urinary • Nervous system can also stimulate the
bladder, and respiratory passages. heart to shift into "high gear" for short
• Spindle-shaped, uninucleate, and
surrounded by scant endomysium.
• Arranged in layers, usually two running
circularly and longitudinally.
• Contracts and relaxes to change organ
size and shape.
• Handles "housekeeping" activities like
moving food through the digestive tract

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periods. • Sarcoplastic Reticulum: Endoplasmic
Reticulum encircling myofibrils.
• Myofibrils: Fine fibers extending
lengthwise.
• Sarcomere: Contractile unit between 2 Z-
lines.
• Myofilaments: Thick and thin filaments.
• T-tubules: Conduct nerve impulses.

Description: Cardiac muscle tissue Myofibril Structure and Function

consists of branched, striated fibers with • Myofibrils are chains of tiny contractile
usually only one centrally located nucleus units called sarcomeres, the structural
(occasionally two). It has cell - and functional units of skeletal muscle.
desmosomes and gap junctions. Location: • The precise arrangement of smaller
Heart wall. Function: Pumps blood to all structures (myofilaments) within
parts of body. sarcomeres produces striations in skeletal
muscle fibers.
Muscle Fiber Histology • Two types of threadlike protein
myofilaments within each sarcomere:
thick filaments (myosin molecules) and
thin filaments (actin and regulatory
proteins).
• Thick filaments extend the entire length
of the dark A band and contain ATPase
enzymes.
• Thin filaments are composed of actin
and regulatory proteins that allow or
• Skeletal muscle fibers are multinucleate prevent binding of myosin heads to actin.
cells with many oval nuclei beneath the • The sarcoplasmic reticulum (SR) is a
plasma membrane. specialized smooth endoplasmic organelle
• Myofibrils, ribbonlike organelles, push that stores and releases calcium on
aside these nuclei. demand when the muscle fiber is
• Alternating light (I) and dark (A) bands stimulated to contract
along the myofibrils give the fiber a
. "Physiology of Muscle Contractions"
striated appearance.
• Muscle fibers possess irritability or
• Light I band has a midline interruption, Z
responsiveness, enabling response to
disc, and H zone.
stimuli.
• The M line in the center of the H zone
• Contractility allows forcible shortening
contains tiny protein rods holding adjacent
when stimulated, distinguishing muscle
thick filaments together. from other tissues.
• Extensibility allows stretching of muscle
Muscle Fiber Structures
fibers, while elasticity allows recoiling and
resuming resting length.
• Sarcollema: Plasma membrane of
muscle fiber. Nerve Stimulus and Action Potential
• Sarcoplasm: Cytoplasm containing • Skeletal muscle fibers contract through
Myoglobin for ATP production. nerve impulses.

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• Motor neurons stimulate varying Muscle Contraction Mechanism:
numbers of muscle fibers. Sliding Filament Theory
• Motor unit comprises one neuron and all
stimulated skeletal muscle fibers. • Myosin heads attach to binding sites on
thin filaments during muscle contraction.
• Each cross bridge attaches and detaches
multiple times, creating tension to pull
filaments towards the sarcomere center.
• This walking pattern resembles a
centipede's gait.
• Some myosin (the leg) heads are always
in contact (the ground) with actin,
preventing filaments from sliding
backward

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• This cycle repeats throughout muscle
fiber, causing cell shortening.
• Neuron's axon branches into axon
terminals, forming junctions with muscle • Myofilaments do not shorten during
cell sarcolemma. contraction; they slide past each other.
• Neuromuscular junctions contain • Cross bridges formation requires calcium
synapticvesicles filled with ions and ATP.
neurotransmitter. • Calcium comes from action potentials
• Acetylcholine or ACh is the specific passing deep into muscle fiber.
neurotransmitter stimulating skeletal • Sarcoplasmic reticulum releases calcium
muscle fibers. ions, triggering myosin-actin binding and
filament sliding.

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3. Concentric: Shortens muscle and
pulls on structure.
Ex.. Picking up a book from a table.
4. Eccentric: Increases muscle length
during contraction.
Ex. Lowering the

End of Action Potential Process

• Calcium ions return to SR storage areas.
• Regulatory proteins return to resting
shape.
• Block myosin binding sites.
• Muscle fiber relaxes and reverts to
original length.

Muscle Contractions
• Common event: develops tension in book to place it on a table.
muscle.
• Actin and myosin myofilaments interact.
• Myosin cross bridges slide actin
filaments past myosin filaments.

1. Isotonic Contractions:
• Known for their "same tone" or
tension.
• Myofilaments successfully slide,
muscle shortens, and movement
occurs.
• Examples include bending the
knee, lifting weights, and smiling.

2. Isometric Contractions:
• Muscles do not shorten, referred
to as "same measurement" or
length.
• Myosin filaments spin their
wheels, increasing muscle tension.
• Muscles try to slide but are pitted
against an immovable object.
• Examples include pushing palms
together in front of you, resulting in
isometric contractions.

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Muscle Movements, Roles, and Names

There are five basic guidelines for

understanding gross muscle activity. We
refer to these as the Five Golden Rules of
skeletal muscle activity because they
make it easier to understand muscle
movements and appreciate muscle
interactions.

Body Movements
Slow twitch fiber and fast twitch fiber • Skeletal muscles are attached to bone or
connective tissue structures at t

Effect of Exercise on Muscles

• Muscle inactivity leads to muscle wo points: the origin (anchor or leverage
weakness and wasting. point) and the insertion (movable bone).
• Regular exercise increases muscle size, • Some muscles have interchangeable
strength, and endurance. origins and insertions, depending on the
• Aerobic exercise, like aerobics, jogging, action performed.
or biking, results in stronger, more flexible • Body movement occurs when muscles
muscles with greater resistance to fatigue. contract across joints, depending on joint
• Aerobic exercise improves overall body mobility and muscle location.
metabolism, digestion, neuromuscular • Most common types of body movements
coordination, and strengthens the occur at limb joints, but less movable
skeleton. bones can also be tugged into motion by
• It also increases the heart's muscles.
hypertrophies and gas exchange • Examples include vertebrae's
efficiency. movements when bending to one side.
• The size of muscles does not
significantly increase with aerobic • Flexion: Movement in the sagittal plane
exercise, but professional bodybuilders' that decreases joint angle and brings two
bulging muscles mainly result from
resistance.

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bones closer together. Common in hinge converge towards a single insertion
joints and ball-and-socket joints. tendon, often triangular or fan-shaped.
• Extension: Movement that increases Examples include pectoralis major muscle
the angle between two bones or parts of of the anterior thorax.
the body. Extension greater than 180° is • Parallel arrangement: Fascicles run
called hyperextension. parallel to the long axis of the muscle, like
• Rotation: Movement of a bone around the sartorius of the anterior thigh.
its longitudinal axis. Common in ball-and Fusiform modification results in a spindle-
socket joints. shaped muscle with an expanded belly.
• Abduction: Movement of a limb away • Pennate (feather) pattern: Short
from the midline of the body. Also applies fascicles attach obliquely to a central
to fanning movement of fingers or toes. tendon, like the extensor digitorum muscle
• Adduction: Movement of a limb toward of the leg. Unpennate when the exterior
the body midline, bringing it closer to the digithorium muscle of the leg, if the
trunk. fascicle is inserted into only one side
tendon.
Muscle Naming Overview
• Bipennate: Fascicles insert into
• Direction of muscle fibers: Some
opposite sides of the tendon, while
muscles are named in reference to an
multipennate inserts from several
imaginary line, such as the midline or the
different sides.
long axis of a limb bone.
• Relative size of the muscle: Terms
like maximus, minimus, and longus are
used to describe the size of the muscle.
• Location of the muscle: Some
muscles are named for the bone with
which they are associated.
• Number of origins: The term biceps,
triceps, or quadriceps indicates the
number of origins.
• Location of the muscle’s origin and
insertion: Some muscles are named for
their attachment sites.
• Shape of the muscle: Some muscles
have a distinctive shape that helps identify
them.
• Action of the muscle: Terms like flexor,
extensor, and adductor are used to
describe their actions.

Fascicle Arrangement in Skeletal

Muscles
• Circular pattern: Fascicles are Gross Anatomy of Skeletal Muscles
arranged in concentric rings, often found • Overseas scope of description.
around external body openings. Examples • Excludes hundreds of human body's
include orbicularis muscles. skeletal muscles.
• Convergent pattern: Fascicles

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Head and Neck Muscles Overview Neck Muscles Overview

• Grouped into facial and chewing • Neck muscles are small, straplike
muscles. muscles that move the head and shoulder
• Facial muscles insert into soft tissues, girdle.
allowing expression through facial • Two main types include:
expressions.
• Chewing muscles break down food for • Platypusma: A single sheetlike muscle
covering the anterolateral neck,
originating from the chest muscles and
inserting into the mouth area.
• Ternocleidomastoid: Two-headed
muscles found on each side of the neck,
one from the sternum and the other from
the clavicle.
• When both muscles contract together,
they flex the neck, a process known as
"prayer" muscles.
• If one muscle contracts, the face rotates
the body.
towards the shoulder on the opposite side
• All muscles are paired, except for
and tilts the head to its own side.
platysma, orbicularis oris, frontalis, and
occipitalis.

Facial Muscles Overview Trunk Muscles:

• Include posterior antigravity muscles
• Frontalis: Covers the frontal bone and that move the vertebral column.
allows raising eyebrows and wrinkles. • Aftrolateral thorax muscles move the
• Occipitalis: Covers the skull posteriorly ribs, head, and arms.
and pulls the scalp posteriorly. • Abdominal wall muscles form a
• Orbicularis Oculi: Runs in circles around natural girdle to hold the guts
the eyes, enabling eye closure, squinting,
blinking, and winking.
• Orbicularis Oris: Circular muscle of the
lips, closes the mouth and protrudes the
lips.
• Buccinator: Flattens the cheek and
holds food between teeth during chewing.
• Zygomaticus: Extends from the mouth
corner to the cheekbone, raising the
corners of the mouth.
• Masseter: Covers the angle of the lower
jaw and closes the jaw by elevating the
mandible.
Pectoralis Major:
• Temporalis: Fan-shaped muscle
• Large fan-shaped muscle covering the
overlying the temporal bone, acts as a
upper part of the chest.
synergist of the masseter in closing the
• Originates from the sternum, shoulder
jaw.
girdle, and first six ribs.
• Forms the anterior wall of the axilla

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(armpit) and adducts and flexes the arm. • Origins from the occipital bone of the
skull down the vertebral column to the end
Intercostal Muscles: of the thoracic vertebrae.
• Deep muscles found between the ribs. • Extend the head and can elevate,
• External intercostals help raise the rib depress, adduct, and stabilize the scapula.
cage during inhalation.
• Internal intercostals depress the rib cage Latissimus Dorsi Muscles
during exhalation. • Large, flat muscles covering the lower
back.
Muscles of the Abdominal Girdle: • Originates on the lower spine and ilium
• Form a natural "girdle" that reinforces and sweeps superiorly to insert into the
the body trunk. proximal end of the humerus.
• Represent the structure of plywood due • Extend and adduct the humerus.
to different direction of fibers.
Erector Spinae Muscles
• Prime mover of back extension.
Rectus Abdominis: • Composed of three muscle columns
• The most superficial muscle of the (longissimus, iliocostalis, and spinalis).
abdomen, running from pubis to rib cage. • Act as powerful back extensors and
• Flexes the vertebral column and provide resistance.
compresses abdominal contents during • Injured back structures can lead to
defecation and childbirth. spasms, a common source of lower back
• Involved in forced breathing. pain.

External Oblique: Quadratus Lumborum Muscles

• Pair of superficial muscles that make up
the lateral walls of the abdomen. • Form part of the posterior abdominal
• Flexes the vertebral column and rotates wall.
the trunk. • Flex the spine laterally and extend the
lumbar spine.
Internal Oblique:
• Pair of muscles deep to the external
obliques.
• Arises from the iliac crest and inserts
into the last three ribs.

Transversus Abdominis:
• Deepest muscle of the abdominal wall,
compresses the abdominal contents.

Posterior Muscles Overview Deltoid

• Fleshy, triangle-shaped muscles forming
rounded shoulders.
Trapezius Muscles • Favored injection site for small amounts
• Most superficial muscles of the posterior of medication.
neck and upper trunk. • Origin winds across shoulder girdle from

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scapula spine to clavicle. Triceps Brachii
• Inserts into proximal humerus. • The only muscle fleshing out the
• Prime movers of arm abduction. posterior humerus.
• Powerful prime mover of elbow
extension.
Upper Limb Muscles Overview • An antagonist of the biceps brachii and
• First group includes muscles from the brachialis.
shoulder girdle that cross the shoulder • Straightens the arm, used for strong jabs
joint to insert into the humerus. in boxing.
• Pectoralis major, latissimus dorsi, and
Lower Limb Muscles Overview
deltoid are examples of these muscles.
• Second group causes movement at the
• Largest, strongest muscles in the body,
elbow joint, enclosing the humerus and
specialized for walking and balancing.
inserting on the forearm bones.
• Stabilize the pelvic girdle, unlike the
• Third group includes forearm muscles
shoulder girdle which requires fixator
that insert on the hand bones and cause
muscles.
their movement.
• Many lower limb muscles span two
• Forearm muscles are thin and spindle-
joints, causing movement at both.
shaped, with names reflecting their
• Thigh muscles hold the body upright
activities.
against gravity and cause movements at
• Examples include flexor carpi and flexor
the hip joint.
digitorum muscles on the anterior aspect
• Leg muscles form the flesh of the thigh,
of the forearm, and extensor carpi and
causing flexion or extension of the knee.
extensor digitorum muscles on the lateral
• Thigh muscles also have attachments on
and posterior aspect.
the pelvic girdle, causing movement at the
Muscles Causing Elbow Joint hip joint.
Movement • Leg muscles cause assorted movements
of the ankle and foot, including extending
Biceps Brachii and flexing the ankle and toe joints.
• Bulges when flexing the elbow.
• Originates from the shoulder girdle and
inserts into the radial tuberosity.
• Powerful prime mover for flexion of the
forearm and acts to supinate the forearm.

Brachialis
• Deeply related to the biceps brachii.
• A prime mover in elbow flexion.
• Lifts the ulna as the biceps lifts the
radius.

Brachioradialis
• A weak muscle that arises on the
humerus and inserts into the distal
forearm.
• Residual mainly in the forearm.

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• Origin on the pelvis and insert on the
proximal aspect of the femur.

Knee Joint Muscles Overview

Hamstring Group
• Comprises three muscles: biceps
femoris, semimembranosus, and
semitendinosus.
• Primarily used for thigh extension and
knee flexion.
• Named after butchers who used tendons
Hip Joint Muscles to hang hams for smoking.

Gluteus Maximus Sartorius

• A superficial muscle of the hip, forming • The most superficial muscle of the thigh.
most of the buttock flesh. • Runs obliquely across the thigh from the
• A powerful hip extensor that brings the anterior iliac crest to the medial side of
thigh in a straight line with the pelvis. the tibia.
• Originates from the sacrum and iliac • A weak thigh flexor and often referred to
bones and inserts on the gluteal tuberosity as the “tailor’s” muscle.
of the femur.
Quadriceps Group
Gluteus Medius • Comprises four muscles: rectus femoris
• A hip abductor running from the ilium to and three vastus muscles.
the femur. • All four muscles insert into the tibial
• Important for steadying the pelvis during tuberosity via the patellar ligament.
walking and giving intramuscular • Acts to extend the knee powerfully and
injections. flex the hip.
• Overlies the large sciatic nerve, a site for • Used as intramuscular injection sites,
careful avoidance to prevent nerve especially in infants with poorly developed
damage. gluteus muscles.

Iliopsoas
• A fused muscle composed of the iliacus Muscles causing Ankle and Foot
and the psoas major. Movement
• A prime mover of hip flexion and
prevents the upper body from falling Tibialis Anterior:
backward when standing erect. • A superficial muscle on the anterior leg,
arising from the upper tibia.
Adductor Muscles • Parallels the anterior crest and runs to
• Form the muscle mass at the medial side the tarsal bones.
of each thigh. • Acts to dorsiflex and invert the foot.
• Adduct or press the thighs together, but
tend to become flabby easily due to Extensor Digitorum Longus:
gravity. • Aims to extend toes 2 to 5.
• Arises from the lateral tibial condyle and

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proximal three-quarters of the fibula.

Fibularis Muscles:
• Longus, brevis, and tertius muscles on
the lateral leg.
• Plantar flexes and everts the foot,
antagonistic to the tibialis anterior.

Gastrocnemius Muscle
• Two-bellied muscle forming the curved
calf of the posterior leg.
• Arises by two heads from each side of
the distal femur.
• Inserts through the large calcaneal Clinical interest
tendon into the heel of the foot.
Myasthenia Gravis: Rare Autoimmune
• Prime mover for plantar flexion of the
Disease
foot.
• Characterized by drooping upper eyelids,
• Severe damage or cut of the calcaneal
swallowing and talking difficulties, and
tendon can cause difficulty walking.
muscle weakness.
• Caused by a shortage of acetylcholine
receptors at neuromuscular junctions.
Soleus Muscle Overview • Antibodies mark these receptors for
• Deep to gastrocnemius. destruction.
• Arises on tibia and fibula. • Muscle fibers weaken due to improper
• Doesn't affect knee movement. stimulation.
• Inserts into calcaneal tendon. • Death usually occurs when respiratory
• Strong plantar flexor of foot. muscles fail, leading to respiratory failure.

Muscular System Development and

Aging Effects

• Muscular system laid down in embryos,

invaded by nerves.
• Thoracic and lumbar muscles become
extensive due to limb bone movement.
• Muscles and nervous system control
develop early in pregnancy.
• Expectant mother often surprised by
fetus's first movements by 16th week.

Affect of ageing on the muscular

system

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