MUSCLE
PHYSIOLOGY
• Based on location muscle tissue is classified in to 3 types:
• 1) Skeletal muscle
• 2) cardiac muscle
• 3) Smooth muscle
SKELETAL MUSCLE:
• Attached to bones
• Is striated muscle
• Is voluntary muscle
• Skeletal muscle fiber is
cylindrical in shape and
has many nuclei at
periphery
• Each muscle fiber lies
parallel to one another in
a whole muscle
CARDIAC MUSCLE:
• Forms heart wall
• It is striated involuntary
muscle
• Its muscle fibers are
branched and usually have
one centrally placed nucleus
• They are attached end to
end by transverse thickening
of plasma membrane called
intercalated discs
SMOOTH MUSCLE:
• Is in relation with viscera
• Is located in walls of
vessels, bronchi, intestines,
stomach, gall bladder and
urinary bladder
• They are non striated
• Involuntary muscles
• Each fiber is small, thick at
center and tapering at
ends
• Containing a centrally
placed nucleus
PROPERTIES OF MUSCLE
• 1) Electrical excitability
- it is the ability to respond to certain stimuli and
generate action potential
• 2)Contractility
- it is the ability to contract when stimulated by
an action potential
• 3) Extensibility
- it is the ability to stretch without being
damaged
• 4) Elasticity
- Is the ability to return to its original length and
shape after contraction or extension
FUNCTIONS OF MUSCLE
• 1) producing Body movements
• 2) stabilizing body positions- for eg, holding head in upright
position
• 3) storing and moving substances within the body – as
done by smooth muscles of viscera
• 4) generating heat – as it contracts it generates heat , used
to maintain body temperature
Structure of Skeletal Muscle
• Muscle tissue is comprised of myocyte
• Each myocyte is enclosed by a plasma membrane called
sarcolemma
• Within the cell is cytoplasm , called Sarcoplasm
• Within Sarcoplasm there are-
- Many nuclei
- Myofibrils
- Golgi apparatus
- Mitochondria
- Sarcoplasmic reticulum
- Ribosomes
• Myofibrils are parallel
filaments present in the
sarcoplasm of myocyte
• Each myofibril consists of
alternating light I band
and dark A band
• The alternate arrangement
of I and A bands gives
striated appearance to
muscle
• In between A band is a
lighter zone called H zone
• I band is divided into 2
portions by means of a
narrow dark line called Z
line
• The portion of myofibril in
between two Z lines is
called Sarcomere
• Sarcomere is the
structural and functional
unit of skeletal muscle/
contractile unit of muscle
• Each Sarcomere consists
of 2 sets of myofilaments :
• A) Actin – thin filaments
• B) Myosin – thick
filaments
• Myosin filaments are
situated in A band
• Actin filaments are
found across I band and
enter upto H zone
• In H zone the actin
filaments donot overlap
myosin
• Myosin filaments have
lateral projections which
have enlarged structure
called myosin heads
• These myosin heads
attach to actin filaments
during contraction
CONTRACTILE PROTEINS OF MUSCLE:
• Actin & Myosin form the contractile proteins of
muscle
• Myosin filaments are formed •by myosin molecules
• Actin is formed by 3 types of proteins- actin,
troponin and tropomyosin
• On each actin molecule
there is a myosin
binding site where
myosin head can attach
• tropomyosin covers the
myosin binding sites in
actin in relaxed state
• Troponin holds the
tropomyosin in place
Physiology of Muscle Contraction
• action potential moves across cell membrane
•
• it causes the sarcoplasmic reticulum to release calcium ions
• The calcium ions bind to troponin molecule
• which moves the tropomyosin away , exposing myosin binding sites in
actin
• The myosin head attaches to actin forming cross bridges
• then there is tilting of myosin head called as power stroke
• actin filaments then slides past the myosin filaments
• The head breaks away from active site and returns to its extended
position and binds with new active site and process continues
• This process is called the ratchet theory or sliding movement
- Thus, the muscle contraction occurs by sliding
movement of filaments, due to action potential
Relaxation of muscle:
- Once the action potential ceases , the calcium
ions are pumped back into sarcoplasmic reticulum
- It causes detachment of myosin from actin
leading to relaxation of muscle
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