The Muscular System
or Everything you ever
wanted to know about
Muscles, but were afraid to
ask !!!
Did you know that ?
- more than 50% of body weight
is muscle !
- And muscle is made up of
proteins and water
The Muscular System
Muscles are responsible for all movement
of the body
There are three basic types of muscle
Skeletal
Cardiac
Smooth
Info About Muscles
Only body tissue able
to contract
create movement by
flexing and extending
joints
Body energy
converters (many
muscle cells contain
many mitochondria)
3 Types of Muscles
Three types of muscle
Skeletal
Cardiac
Smooth
Classification of Muscle
SkeletalCardiacfound in limbs found in heart
SmoothFound in
viscera
Striated, multi- Striated, 1
nucleated
nucleus
Not striated, 1
nucleus
voluntary
involuntary
involuntary
Characteristics of Muscle
Skeletal and smooth muscle are elongated
Muscle cell = muscle fiber
Contraction of a muscle is due to movement
of microfilaments (protein fibers)
All muscles share some terminology
Prefixes myo and mys refer to muscle
Prefix sarco refers to flesh
Shapes of Muscles
Triangular- shoulder, neck
Spindle- arms, legs
Flat- diaphragm, forehead
Circular- mouth, anus
Skeletal Muscle
Most are attached by tendons to bones
Cells have more than one nucleus
(multinucleated)
Striated- have stripes, banding
Voluntary- subject to conscious control
Tendons are mostly made of collagen fibers
Found in the limbs
Produce movement, maintain posture,
generate heat, stabilize joints
Structure of skeletal muscle
Each cell (fibre) is long and cylindrical
Muscle fibres are multi-nucleated
Typically 50-60mm in diameter, and up
to 10cm long
The contractile elements of
skeletal muscle cells are
myofibrils
Skeletal muscle - Summary
Voluntary movement
of skeletal parts
Spans joints and
attached to skeleton
Multi-nucleated,
striated, cylindrical
fibres
Smooth Muscle
No striations
Spindle shaped
Single nucleus
Involuntary- no conscious control
Found mainly in the walls of hollow organs
Smooth muscle
Lines walls of viscera
Found in longitudinal or
circular arrangement
Alternate contraction of
circular & longitudinal
muscle in the intestine
leads to peristalsis
Structure of smooth muscle
Spindle shaped uni-nucleated cells
Striations not observed
Actin and myosin filaments are present(
protein fibers)
Smooth muscle - Summary
Found in walls of
hollow internal
organs
Involuntary
movement of
internal organs
Elongated, spindle
shaped fibre with
single nucleus
Cardiac Muscle
Striations
Branching cells
Involuntary
Found only in the heart
Usually has a single nucleus, but can have
more than one
Cardiac muscle
Main muscle of heart
Pumping mass of heart
Critical in humans
Heart muscle cells
as one unit
Heart always contracts
its full extent
behave
to
Structure of cardiac muscle
Cardiac muscle cells (fibres) are
short, branched and
interconnected
Cells are striated & usually have 1
nucleus
Adjacent cardiac cells are joined
via electrical synapses (gap
junctions)
These gap junctions appear as
dark lines and are called
Cardiac muscle - Summary
Found in the heart
Involuntary rhythmic
contraction
Branched, striated
fibre with single
nucleus and
intercalated discs
Muscle Control
Type of
muscle
Nervous
control
Type of
control
Example
Skeletal
Skeletal
Controlled
by CNS
Voluntary
Lifting a
glass
Cardiac
Regulated
by ANS
Involuntary Heart
beating
Smooth
Controlled
by ANS
Involuntary Peristalsis
Types of Responses
Twitch A single brief contraction
Not a normal muscle function
Tetanus
One contraction immediately followed by
another
Muscle never completely returns to a relaxed
state
Effects are compounded
Where Does the Energy Come
From?
Energy is stored in the muscles in the form
of ATP
ATP comes from the breakdown of glucose
during Cellular Respiration
This all happens in the Mitochondria of the
cell
When a muscle is fatigued (tired) it is
unable to contract because of lack of
Oxygen
Exercise and Muscles
Isotonic- muscles shorten and movement
occurs ( most normal exercise)
Isometric- tension in muscles increases, no
movement occurs (pushing one hand
against the other)
How are Muscles Attached to
Bone?
Origin-attachment to a movable bone
Insertion- attachment to an immovable
bone
Muscles are always attached to at least 2
points
Movement is attained due to a muscle
moving an attached bone
Muscle Attachments
Insertion
Origin
Types of Musculo-Skeletal Movement
Flexion
Extension
Hyperextension
Abduction, Adduction &
Circumduction
Rotation
More Types of Movement
Inversion- turn sole of foot medially
Eversion- turn sole of foot laterally
Pronation- palm facing down
Supination- palm facing up
Opposition- thumb touches tips of fingers
on the same hand
The Skeletal Muscles
There are about 650 muscles in the
human body. They enable us to
move, maintain posture and generate
heat. In this section we will only
study a sample of the major muscles.
Sternocleidomastoideus
Flexes and Rotates Head
Masseter
Elevate Mandible
Temporalis
Elevate & Retract Mandible
Trapezius
Extend Head, Adduct, Elevate or
Depress Scapula
Latissimus Dorsi
Extend, Adduct & Rotate Arm Medially
Deltoid
Abduct, Flex & Extend Arm
Pectoralis Major
Flexes, adducts & rotates arm medially
Biceps Brachii
Flexes Elbow Joint
Triceps Brachii
Extend Elbow Joint
Rectus Abdominus
Flexes Abdomen
External Oblique
Compress Abdomen
External Intercostals
Elevate ribs
Internal Intercostals
Depress ribs
Diaphragm
Inspiration
Forearm Muscles
Flexor carpiFlexes wrist
Extensor carpiExtends wrist
Flexor digitorumFlexes fingers
Extensor digitorumExtends fingers
PronatorPronates
SupinatorSupinates
Gluteus Maximus
Extends & Rotates
Thigh Laterally
Rectus Femoris
Flexes Thigh,
Extends Lower Leg
Gracilis
Adducts and Flexes Thigh
Sartorius
Flexes Thigh, &
Rotates Thigh
Laterally
Biceps Femoris
Extends Thigh &
Flexes Lower Leg
Gastrocnemius
Plantar Flexes Foot
& Flex Lower Leg
Tibialis Anterior
Dorsiflexes and Inverts Foot
