4 - Muscular System
4 - Muscular System
MUSCULAR SYSTEM
OCTOBER 2024
4) Elasticity: Ability to return to its original length after
stretching, essential in respiration.
OUTLINE:
I. MUSCLE TISSUES, STRUCTURES, AND FUNCTIONS
a. Functions of the Muscular System
b. General Properties of Muscle Tissue Types of Muscle Fibers
c. Types of Muscle Fibers 1) Slow-Twitch (Type I)
d. Parts of a Muscle
II. CLASSIFICATION OF MUSCLE TISSUES
a. Smooth Muscle
b. Cardiac Muscle
c. Skeletal Muscle
III. CHARACTERISTICS OF SKELETAL MUSCLE
a. Structure of Skeletal Muscle
IV. PHYSIOLOGY OF MUSCLE OF CONTRACTION
a. Types of muscle fibers
b. Organ System involved
c. Functions
d. Clinical significance
V. NAMING MUSCLES
a. Functions ● High endurance, fatigue-resistant.
b. Shapes ● Well-developed blood supply, numerous
c. Location mitochondria.
d. Origin ● Found in muscles involved in posture and
e. Insertion endurance, such as leg muscles
2) Fast-Twitch (Type II)
General Properties of Muscle Tissue ● Muscle tissues are classified into three main types:
Four Major Properties of Muscle Tissue skeletal, cardiac, and smooth, each with distinct
1) Contractility: Ability to shorten forcefully. Example: structures and functions that contribute to movement
lifting an object. and bodily functions.
2) Excitability: Capacity to respond to stimuli, typically
from nerve impulses.
3) Extensibility: Ability to stretch beyond normal length.
Example: stretching arms.
Skeletal Muscle
● Skeletal muscle is responsible for movement of bones.
They are attached to the skeleton and facilitate
locomotion and other body movements..
Smooth Muscle - striated and has multinucleated fibers
● Smooth muscle is primarily found in the walls of hollow - attached to bones
organs (e.g., digestive tract, blood vessels, respiratory - Voluntary
tract) and moves substances through them. ● Functional Properties
- spindle-shaped a. Has the ability to shorten and stretch and
- single nucleus in the middle of the cell return to its original length after being
- non-striated stretched.
- involuntary ● Regulation of Skeletal Muscle
● Types of Smooth Muscle ○ Controlled by the somatic nervous system via
a. Visceral smooth muscle - muscle fibers motor neurons.
contract slowly, function as a single unit, and ○ Skeletal muscle growth, maintenance, and
can be autorhythmic. adaptation are influenced by various
Ex. smooth muscle in the walls of the hormones.
intestines ■ Ex. Testosterone - Promotes muscle
b. Multiunit smooth muscle - muscle fibers growth (hypertrophy).
contract rapidly in response to stimulation by ■ Ex. Growth Hormone (GH) -
neurons and function independently. Stimulates growth and repair of
Ex. iris of the eye tissues, including skeletal muscle.
● Functional Properties
a. Smooth muscle maintains a steady tension for
long periods (smooth muscle tone). CHARACTERISTICS OF SKELETAL MUSCLE
b. The force of smooth muscle contraction ● Skeletal muscle is an excitable, contractile tissue
remains nearly constant, despite changes in responsible for maintaining posture and moving the
muscle length. orbits, together with the appendicular and axial
● Regulation of Smooth Muscle skeletons. It attaches to bones and orbits through
○ Smooth muscle innervated by the autonomic tendons.
nervous system. - Excitable tissue responds to stimuli through
○ Hormones are important in regulating smooth electrical signals.
muscle. - Contractile tissue is able to generate tension
■ Ex. Epinephrine - stimulates some of force.
smooth muscles (blood vessels of - Extensible tissue can be stretched and
the small intestines and other elastic tissue is able to return to its original
smooth muscles in the intestinal shape following distortion.
wall).
■ Ex. Oxytocin - stimulates Cellular structure
contraction of uterine smooth
● Sarcolemma - cellular membrane
muscle, especially during childbirth.
● Terminal cisterna - extension of sarcolemma that
stores calcium.
Cardiac Muscle
● Cardiac muscle is located in the heart and is responsible ● T-tubules - invaginations of sarcolemma that transfer
for pumping blood throughout the body. action potentials to the inside of the muscle cell
- striated but each cell usually contains one ● Sarcoplasm - cytoplasm
nucleus near the center ● Sarcoplasmic reticulum - modified endoplasmic
- adjacent cells join to form branching fibers by reticulum
intercalated disks. ● Actin, myosin - contractile elements
- allow action potentials to move from ● Sarcomere - functional unit (made of actin and myosin)
one cell to the next. Thus, cardiac ● Accessory proteins - titin, tropomodulin, alpha-actinin,
muscle cells function as a unit. desmin, nebulin, dystrophin, myomesin.
- involuntary
● Functional Properties
a. Some cardiac muscle cells are autorhythmic
(can generate electrical impulses on their
own), and one part of the heart normally acts Types of fibers (cells)
as the pacemaker, Sinoatrial (SA) node.
● Type I - use aerobic metabolism to function; they appear
- initiating the heartbeat and
red because of the high amount of myoglobin; they are
regulating the heart's rhythm
slow-twitch and resistant to fatigue.
b. Cardiac muscle contracts rhythmically and
● Type IIa - get energy from oxidative glycolysis; have a
continuously without fatigue.
high amount of glycogen, are brighter than type I fibers,
● Regulation of Cardiac Muscle
and they are fast-twitch and resistant to fatigue.
○ Intrinsically regulated by pacemaker cells in
● Type IIb - get energy from anaerobic glycolysis, appear
the SA node.
pink, fast-twitch and prone to fatigue
○ Hormones play a significant role in regulating
cardiac muscle function.
Sarcomeres
● The sarcomere is the functional unit of a skeletal muscle
cell. Each sarcomere is about 2.5 micrometers in length.
It is made up of multiple myosin and actin filaments
oriented in parallel. The actin and myosin filaments
overlap in certain places creating several bands and
zones.
- Z disc forms the boundary of the sarcomere Neuromuscular junction
on either side. Thin actin filaments project in ● A neuromuscular junction, abbreviated NMJ, is the
either direction off of a Z disc but do not cross location at which a motor nerve ending makes a
the entire length of the sarcomere. They are synapse with a muscle cell.
almost 8 nm in diameter and have tightly - Motor neurons release acetylcholine into the
bound regulatory proteins called troponin and synaptic cleft of the neuromuscular junction.
tropomyosin. - Acetylcholine molecules traverse the
- H zones referred to the center of the synaptic cleft and bind to receptors on the
sarcomere lack actin filaments. muscle fiber membrane.
- M line runs down the middle of the H zone - This results in depolarization and
perpendicular to the filaments. Thick myosin subsequent contraction of the muscle cell.
filaments are found between the actin
filaments.
Control of the skeletal muscle contraction
● The sarcomere is broken up into three bands:
● Two main proprioceptors influence the strength and
- A band is in the middle and corresponds to
duration of muscle contraction:
the myosin filaments together with the thin
- Golgi tendon organs are receptors found at
filaments overlapping on both ends.
the junction between myofibrils and tendons.
- Two I bands on either side of the A band and
The receptor endings of a Golgi tendon organ
represent the area in which only actin
are intertwined with the collagenous fibers of
filaments are present.
the tendon. The role of the Golgi tendon organ
is to prevent muscles from over-contracting.
- Muscle spindles detect change in muscle
length, position, and velocity. Muscle spindle
fibers are long, thin encapsulated fibers
aligned in parallel to myofibrils. They are also
called intrafusal muscle fibers, while extrafusal
fibers are present outside the spindle
capsule.Stretching the spindle causes it to
depolarize and relay that information through
the spinal cord.
Accessory proteins
● The thick and thin filaments in the myofibrils are
supported by accessory proteins. These proteins
maintain the speed and alignment of filaments during the
contraction cycle.
- Titin is a large, elastic protein the anchors
thick filaments to Z lines to prevent excessive
stretching of the myofibril
- Tropomodulin acts like an actin cap. It
attaches to the free end of an actin filament to
maintain its length.
- α-Actinin is a short, rod-shaped protein that
arranges thin filaments into parallel bundles
and anchors them to the Z line
- Desmin is an intermediate filament that forms
a lattice surrounding the sarcomere near the Z
Clinical Significance
● Muscle spasms, also known as muscle cramps, are
involuntary and painful contractions of muscle groups,
individual muscles, or muscle fibers. They can last
from seconds to weeks, depending on the affected
muscle and the spasm's cause. In sports,
exercise-associated muscle spasms are a common
issue requiring intervention. The specific causes of
these spasms vary depending on the physiological or
pathological situation. It's important to note that a
2. Shape
Deltoid: Triangle-shaped.
Trapezius: Trapezoid-shaped.
Orbicularis: Circular.
Pectoralis: Chest-shaped.
3. Location
Brachii: Arm.
Femoris: Thigh. Muscles of the Trunk
Dorsi: Back.
Abdominis: Abdomen. 1. Pectoralis Major
a. Function: Adducts and medially rotates the arm.
4. Origin and Insertion b. Shape: Large, fan-shaped.
Origin:The fixed point of attachment. c. Location: Covers the upper chest, extending from the
Insertion: The movable point of attachment. collarbone and sternum to the upper arm.
d. Origin: Clavicle, sternum, and ribs.
● Muscles and their functions, shapes, locations, e. Insertion: Humerus.
origins, and insertion.
2. External Oblique
Muscles of the Head and Neck a. Function: Compresses abdominal contents, lateral
rotation of the trunk.
1. Frontalis b. Shape: Thin, broad.
a. Function: Raises eyebrows, wrinkles forehead.
3. Rectus Abdominis
a. Function: Flexes the spine, compresses the abdomen.
b. Shape: Long, strap-like.
c. Location:Runs vertically along the front of the abdomen,
from the pubic bone to the ribs.
d. Origin: Pubic crest and symphysis.
e. Insertion: Xiphoid process, ribs 5-7.
4. Latissimus Dorsi
a. Function: Extends, adducts, and medially rotates the
arm.
b. Shape: Broad, flat. Muscles of the Lower Limb
c. Location:Covers the lower back, extending from the
spine and pelvis to the upper arm. 1. Gluteus Maximus
d. Origin: Lower spine and iliac crest. a. Function: Extends and laterally rotates the hip.
e. Insertion: Humerus. b. Shape: Large, thick, and quadrilateral.
c. Location: Covers the buttocks, extending from the pelvis
to the femur.
d. Origin: Ilium, sacrum, and coccyx.
e. Insertion: Femur.
1. Trapezius
a. Function: Moves the scapula and supports arm
movement.
b. Shape: Large, triangular.
c. Location: Covers the upper back and neck, extending
from the base of the skull to the shoulder blades and
upper spine.
d. Origin: Occipital bone, cervical and thoracic vertebrae.
e. Insertion: Clavicle and scapula.
2. Rhomboid Major
a. Function: Retracts the scapula. REFERENCES
b. Shape: Rectangular.
● VanPutte, C. L., & Seeley, R. R. (2017). Seeley’s
c. Location: Located between the spine and the scapula,
anatomy & physiology (11th ed., pp. 268-363).
underneath the trapezius. McGraw-Hill.
d. Origin: Thoracic vertebrae. ● Gash, M. C., Kandle, P. F., Murray, I. V., & Varacallo, M.
e. Insertion: Scapula. (2023, April 1). Physiology, muscle contraction.
StatPearls - NCBI Bookshelf.
3. Erector Spinae Group (Iliocostalis, Longissimus, Spinalis) https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK537140/
● https://youtu.be/NfEJUPnqxk0?si=g1nRirCpe1b2_KfH
a. Function: Extends the spine and maintains posture.
b. Shape: Long, thin.
c. Location: Runs vertically along both sides of the spine,
from the lower back to the upper back and neck.
d. Origin: Sacrum, ilium, ribs, vertebrae.
e. Insertion: Ribs, vertebrae, skull.