MUSCULAR

SYSTEM
MUSCLE SYSTEM

ANATOMY & PHYSIOLOGY OF MUSCLE

TISSUES
Physiological Properties of Muscle
Tissue
Characteristics Explanation
• The ability to receive and respond to a stimulus
Excitability • To function properly, muscles have to respond to a stimulus from
the nervous system
• The ability to shorten or contract
Contractility • When a muscle responds to a stimulus, it shortens to produce
movement
• A muscle can be stretched or extended
Extensibility • When one muscle contracts, the other muscle is relaxed and is
stretched
Elasticity • The capability to recoil or return to the original shape and length
after contraction or extension
General Functions of Muscle Tissue

Movement Posture
Function
s

Joint stability Heat production

Type of Muscle Tissues
Smooth Muscle

– Located in the walls of hollow visceral

structures such as blood vessels, the
stomach, intestines, and the bladder
– Involuntary (by nervous system,
hormones and chemical), and they are
non-striated
– Can undergo hypertrophy (growth)
Cardiac Muscle

– Forms the bulk of the wall of the heart

– Striated
– Contraction is usually not under
conscious control and is classed as
involuntary (by natural pacemaker,
nervous system and hormones)
Skeletal Muscle

– Attached to our bones

– Striated, the fibers contain alternating
light and dark bands (striations)
– Can be made to contract or relax by
conscious control voluntarily (via nervous
system)
Three Types of Muscular Tissue
Location Function Appearance Control

Skeletal movement, heat, striated, multi-nucleated

skeleton voluntary
posture (eccentric), fibers parallel

Cardiac pump blood

striated, one central
heart continuously involuntary
nucleus

Visceral Peristalsis, blood

(smooth muscle) G.I. tract, uterus, no striations, one central
pressure, pupil involuntary
eye, blood vessels nucleus
size, erects hairs
Structure of Skeletal Muscle
Structure of Skeletal Muscle

– Muscle is composed by bundles of muscle

fascicles.
– Muscles fascicles made up by bundles of
muscle fibers.
– Muscle fibers contain of a bundle of
myofibrils.
– Myofibril consists of many thick (actin) and
thin (myosin) myofilaments.
– Myofilament is a kind of protein.
Structure of Skeletal Muscle

– An individual skeletal muscle may be made

up of hundreds, or even thousands, of
muscle fibers bundled together and
wrapped in a connective tissue covering
– Each muscle is surrounded by a connective
tissue sheath called the epimysium
Structure of Skeletal Muscle

– Fascia, connective tissue outside the

epimysium, surrounds and separates the
muscles
– Each compartment contains a bundle of
muscle fibers
– Each bundle of muscle fibers is called a
fasciculus and is surrounded by a layer of
connective tissue called the perimysium
Structure of Skeletal Muscle

– Within the fasciculus, each individual muscle

cell, called a muscle fiber, is surrounded by a
layer of connective tissue called the
endomysium
– The sheaths: Epimysium  Perimysium 
Endomysium
– Structure from outside: Muscle Fiber
Myofibril Myofilament
Muscle Fiber

– Each skeletal muscle fiber is a single

cylindrical muscle cell
– The cell membrane is called the sarcolemma,
the cytoplasm is the sarcoplasm, and a
specialized form of smooth endoplasmic
reticulum that stored calcium ions is the
sarcoplasmic reticulum
– There are multiple nuclei next to the
sarcolemma at the periphery of the cell
Muscle Fiber

– Because the muscle cell needs energy for

contraction, there are numerous
mitochondria
– The sarcolemma has multiple inward
extensions, or invaginations, called
transverse tubules or T tubules
Myofibril
Myofibril

– Microscopic examination of a skeletal muscle

fiber reveals alternating I bands (isotropic) and
dark A bands (anisotropic) .
– These are the striations visible in a light
microscope
Myofibril

– Closer inspection shows that the sarcoplasm is

packed with filamentous myofibrils that have the
same characteristic banding as the muscle fiber
– The myofibrils consist of still smaller protein
threads called myofilaments
Myofilaments

– Thick filaments are formed by the protein

myosin, whereas thin filaments are formed
primarily from the protein actin
Sarcomere in Myofobril

– The I band is the region where there are only thin

(actin) filaments
– A dark Z line bisects the I band
– The Z line is actually a protein disk that serves as a
point of attachment for the actin molecules
– A bands, alternating with the I bands, extend the
full length of the thick (myosin) filaments
– Each A band is subdivided into three regions
– The zone of overlap is at the ends of the A band
where the actin overlaps myosin
Sarcomere in Myofobril

– The central region of the A band where the

actin does not overlap and where there are
only myosin filaments is the H zone or H band
– An M line, where thick filaments interconnect,
bisects the H band
Sarcomere in Myofobril

– A sarcomere, the functional unit of a myofibril,

extends from one Z line to the next
– The typical myofibril consists of 10000 or more
sarcomeres that are strung together in long
chains
– When a muscle cell contracts, all the sarcomeres
in all the myofibrils of that cell shorten at the
same time
MUSCLE SYSTEM

TYPE OF MUSCLE CONTRACTION AND

FIBERS
Motor Units

– Motor unit – made up of a motor neuron and

all the muscle cells it stimulates
– Motor units vary in size
– Small motor units are used for precise, small
movements
– Large motor units are used for gross
movements
Contraction of Muscle

– There are 3 phases of complete muscle

twitch:
1. Latent – No visible shortening of the
muscle
2. Contraction – Speed of contraction
depends on weight being lifted and
muscle fiber type
3. Relaxation – The muscle is returned to its
original length
Types of Muscle Contraction

1. Twitch
– A muscle’s respond to a single threshold
stimulus
– This is not the way a muscle in the body
normally functions
Types of Muscle Contraction

2. Isotonic
– If the tension produced by muscle exceeds the
weight of a load, then the muscle shortens and
movement occurs
– The tension is constant or the same, but the
length of the muscle changes
Types of Muscle Contraction

3. Isometric
– The tension in the muscle increases but never
exceeds the weight load, then there is no
shortening and no movement
– Most body movements are the result of a
combination of isotonic and isometric
contractions
Types of Muscle Contraction

4. Treppe
– An increase in the force of muscle contraction
in response to successive threshold stimuli of
the same intensity
– This occurs in muscle that has rested for a
prolonged period of time
– Treppe is the basis of the warm-up period for
athletes
Types of Muscle Contraction

5. Tetanus / Temporal Summation

– If a second stimulus is applied during the
relaxation phase, the second twitch is
stronger than the first
– If the muscle is stimulated at an
increasingly faster rate, the relaxation
times becomes shorter and shorter
– Finally, all evidence of relaxation
disappears and the contractions merge into
a smooth, sustained contraction called
tetanus
Types of Muscle Contraction

– Tetanus is a form of multiple wave summation

– This is the usual form of muscle contraction
– Neurons normally deliver a rapid succession of impulses that result in
tetanus, rather than a single impulse that causes a single muscle
twitch
Types of Muscle Contraction

6. Fatigue
– The muscle is no longer able to sustain
tension and gradually elongates due to build
up of acidic compounds which affect protein
functioning, relative lack of ATP and ionic
imbalances resulting from membrane
activities
Types of Muscle Fiber
Types of Muscle Fiber

RED MUSCLE FIBER WHITE MUSCLE FIBER

– Half a diameter of white muscle – Large in diameter
fiber – Light in colour due to reduced
– Dark red in colour due to large myoglobin
quantity of myoglobin – Relatively a few numbers of
– Numerous of mitochondria mitochondria
– Surrounded by many of blood – Surrounded by a few of blood
capillaries capillaries
– Low glycogen content – High glycogen content
Types of Muscle Fiber

RED MUSCLE FIBER WHITE MUSCLE FIBER

– Used Krebs Cycle and Oxidative – Use glycolisis in the synthesizing of
Phosphorylation to synthesize the ATP
ATP
– Suited for activities requiring – Suited for activities requiring
endurance and continuous power a speed for short duration
contraction
– Can fatigue easily
– Fatigue resistance and high
endurance
– Also known as slow twitch – Also known as fast twitch
MUSCLE
CONTRACTION

ELECTRICAL PROPAGATION
Electrical Propagation

– Neuromuscular junction – the junction between a

motor ending and a muscle fiber
– Axon terminal – the end branch of the motor neuron
– Motor end plate – the muscle fiber membrane, at the
junction between the muscle fiber and the motor
neuron
– Synaptic cleft – a tiny gap which separated the nerve
endings from the sarcolemma, at the motor end plate
– Each muscle fibre is innervated by only one motor end
plate
Events at the Neuromuscular Junction

– A nerve impulse (action potential) is propagated

along the axon of a motor neuron
– When it reach the axon terminal, it causes the
voltage-gated calcium (Ca2+) channel to open and
causing the Ca2+ to flow into the axon terminal
– The channels are not always open
Events at the Neuromuscular Junction

– Because the channels have gates that open and

close with changes in voltage, they are called
voltage-gated channels
– The increase in calcium ion concentration causes
some synaptic vesicles to fuse with the membrane
of axon terminal and thus stimulates the release
of the neurotransmitter acetylcholine (by the
exocytosis) from the synaptic vesicle of the nerve
endings
Events at the Neuromuscular Junction

– Meanwhile, calcium is pumped back out of the

cell
– AcH diffuses across the synaptic cleft at the
neuromuscular junction and binds to receptor
sites on the motor end plate
– AcH causes the Sodium (Na+) and Potassium
(K+) channels in the plasma membrane of the
motor end plate open
Events at the Neuromuscular Junction

– The flow of Na+ ion into the muscle fiber is

greater than the flow of the K+ out
– This causes the reverse of the electrical potential
at the motor end plate due to the change in the
Na+ and K+ ions concentration
– The motor end plate depolarizes the adjacent
plasma membrane, which reaches its threshold
potential to initiate the action potential
Events at the Neuromuscular Junction

– The action potential is propagated over the

surface of the entire muscle fiber (sarcolemma)
and moves into the fiber along transverse tubules
– The action potential in the transverse tubules
causes the release of calcium ions from the
terminal cisternae of sarcoplasmic reticulum into
the cytosol; these ions stimulate the myofibrils in
the muscle cell to contract
Events at the Neuromuscular Junction

An action potential Acetylcholime is

Calcium ions enter
arrives at the axon then released into
the axon terminal
terminal the synaptic cleft

Calcium ions are The motor end plate is

released from the The AP propagates depolarized when AcH
terminal cisternae along the binds to receptor site on
chemically-gated
into the cytosol, sarcolemma and channels, causing the
triggering muscle down the T-tubules influx of sodium ions and
cell contraction efflux of potassium ions
MUSCLE
CONTRACTION

SLIDING FILAMENT
Sliding Filament Model of Muscle

There are 6 elements participate in the muscle contraction:

1. Actin
2. Tropomyosin
3. Troponin
4. Myosin
5. ATP
6. Calcium ions
Thin Myofilament (Actin)

– Thin myofilament is made up of protein actin,

tropomyosin and troponin.
– The molecule of actin, tropomyosin and troponin are
arranged in thin, twisted strands
– Actin is a major subunit, which made up the thin
myofilament. Each actin molecule has a binding point
– Tropomyosin strands wrapping along the binding site
on the actin subunits
– Troponin is located periodically next to the
tropomyosin strands
Thick Myofilament (Myosin)

– Thick myofilament is made up chiefly by

protein myosin
– Each myosin molecule has a part called head
and tail
– Each myosin molecule has 2 hinge points for
the power stroke
– Each myosin molecule has 2 binding site, 1 for
the ATP and another 1 for binding with actin
The Mechanism of Muscle
Contraction and Relaxation
Muscle Contraction

– At resting condition, the tropomyosin strands

wrapping on the binding sites of actin molecules
and block the actin from combining with myosin
molecule
– In the process lead to the muscle contraction, the
action potential is propagating along the
sarcolemma and T-tubules
– The action potential triggers the release of the
calcium ions from the Terminal Cisternae of
Sarcoplasmic Reticulum into the cytosol
Muscle Contraction

– The calcium ions bind to the troponin molecules

on the actin myofilament, causing the change to
the conformation of the complex
– The troponin molecules shifted and drag the
tropomyosin strands away from its blocking
position, leaving the action binding sites
exposed
– The heads of myosin molecules move toward
the actin myfilaments, forming the cross bridges
that act as a hooks
Muscle Contraction

– The myosin head binds with the ATP

(Adenosine Triphosphate) to produce the
myosin cross bridge low energy conformation
– The binding of the ATP transfers energy to
myosin cross bridge as ATP is hydrolyzed into
ADP (Adenosine Diphosphate) and Pi (Inorganic
Phosphate)
– This causes the myosin cross bridge to energize
(high energy conformation)
Muscle Contraction

– The energy of the myosin cross bridge is used for

the power stroke pulling the thin myofilaments
inward, causes the thin and the thick
myofilaments slide each other
– This causing muscle contract
Muscle Contraction
Muscle Contraction

As a muscle contract, the sarcomere change:

1. the Z lines come closer together;
2. the width of the I bands decreases;
3. the width of H zones decreases;
4. but there is no change in the width of the A
band
Muscle Relaxation

– Acetylcholine (AcH) is broken down by

acetylcholineterase
– This breakdown prevents further stimulation of
the muscle fiber by the motor neuron, due to the
closing of sodium potassium ion channels
– Without the stimulation of an action potential,
the calcium ions moves away from the thin
myofilaments and actively transported back to the
terminal cisternae of sarcoplasmic reticulum
Muscle Relaxation

– This process requires ATP to energize the calcium

ions pumps
– Without Ca2+, troponin and tropomyosin once
again block the active binding sites on the action
myofilament, preventing myosin from forming
cross bridges and binding with actin
– To detach and disconnect from the binding site,
the myosin cross bridge requires ATP
Muscle Relaxation

– As ATP binds to the myosin cross bridge, the

myosin disconnected
– Thus the ATP hydrolized into ADP and Pi, the
mysoin reenergizing and repositioning to the
initial place
Muscle Relaxation
Muscle Relaxation

During relaxation of muscle, the sarcomere

returns to its original shape:
1. the width of the A band is unchanged;
2. the width of H zone is wider;
3. the I bands become broader and
4. the Z lines moves farther apart
Muscular instrumentation and
related measurement systems

ELECTROMYOGRAPH
Electromyograph

 Electromyogram (EMG) is a technique for evaluating

and recording the activation signal of muscles, which is
electrical signals associated with the contraction of a
muscular.
 EMG is performed by an electromyograph, which
records an electromyogram.
 Electromyograph detects the electrical potential
generated by muscle cells when these cells contract and
relax.
 The study of EMG’s is called electromyography.
EMG Signal

 Factors, which can influence the EMG signal:

1. Velocity of shortening or lengthening of the muscle
2. Fatigue;
3. Reflex activity.
 Muscle Signals are Analog in nature.
 EMG signals are also collected over a specific period
of time.
Electrical Characteristics

 The electrical source is the muscle membrane

potential of about -70mV.
 Measured EMG potentials range between < 50 μV up
to 20 to 30 mV, depending on the muscle under
observation.
 Typical repetition rate of muscle unit firing is about
7-20 Hz.
EMG Procedure

 Clean the site of application of electrode;

 Insert needle/place surface electrodes at muscle
belly;
 Record muscle activity at rest;
 Record muscle activity upon voluntary contraction of
the muscle.
Applications of EMG

 EMG can be used for diagnosis of Neurogenic or

Myogenic Diseases.
 Indicator for muscle activation/deactivation
 Relationship of force/EMG signal
 Use of EMG signal as a fatigue index
Types of EMG

 Electrode Categories
 Inserted (Intra-muscular)
 Fine-wire
 Needle
Fine wire Needle electrode  Surface (Extra-muscular)

Surface Electrodes
Fine-wire Electrodes

 Advantages
 Extremely sensitive
 Record single muscle activity
 Access to deep musculature
 Little cross-talk concern
 Disadvantages
 Extremely sensitive
 Requires medical personnel, certification
 Repositioning nearly impossible
 Detection area may not be representative of entire muscle
Surface Electrodes

 Advantages
 Quick, easy to apply
 No medical supervision, required certification
 Minimal discomfort
 Disadvantages
 Generally used only for superficial muscles
 Cross-talk concerns
 No standard electrode placement
 May affect movement patterns of subject
 Limitations with recording dynamic muscle activity
Muscular instrumentation and
related measurement systems

ELECTROTHERAPHY
Electrotherapy

– Electrotherapy is a method of medical treatment which

uses electric current to the affected areas.
– It is mostly used by experienced physiotherapists to treat
a variety of conditions ranging from muscle pain to
arthritis. 
– This treatment option is useful for treating chronic pain,
muscle wasting, musculoskeletal injuries, and nerve pain
by using targeted and controlled electrical stimulation.
Benefits Of Electrotherapy

– Though there are plenty of electrotherapy treatments using

various devices, they are non-invasive and have minimal to no
side effects.
– Other than these, electrotherapy offers several key benefits
which are listed below: 
 Reduces body pain
 Alleviates nerve pain
 Accelerates healing of musculoskeletal injuries
 Increases blood circulation in the body
 Heals wounds
 Relaxes muscle spasms
Types Of Electrotherapy

TENS (Transcutaneous Electrical Nerve Stimulation): In TENS

electrotherapy, a small electrical device is used to deliver electrical impulses
through the skin. Common conditions that can be treated through this are lower
back pain, labour pain, and arthritis. 

Interferential Therapy: Also known as IFT, this is a deeper form of TENS

electrotherapy and uses two high frequency currents. It is effective in pain relief,
muscle stimulation, and blood circulation.

Electrical Muscle Stimulation (EMS): In this type of electrotherapy, the

physiotherapist focuses on the muscle tissues instead of nerves. EMS is a
specialized form where your motor neurons are stimulated to contract the muscles.
This therapy is used to treat muscle atrophy.
Types Of Electrotherapy

Percutaneous Electrical Nerve Stimulation (PENS): PENS

involves the application of electrical stimulation through
small needles that penetrate the skin. It can also be used at
home and is more beneficial than TENS. 

Therapeutic Ultrasound: This form of electrotherapy in

physiotherapy uses a transducer instead of electrode pads.
The benefits of therapeutic ultrasound include the healing of
muscles and ligaments and the healing process. 
How Electrotherapy Works

Electrotherapy uses electric currents to stimulate nerves and muscles through the skin. Since it
is a non-invasive treatment method, it is not painful.
People only feel relaxed during their sessions. In some cases, they can experience vibration or
little tingling in the body. 

 It sends electrical impulses that block the pain signals; thereby, reducing pain. 
 Electric physiotherapy also helps in releasing endorphins that decrease pain or discomfort. 
 It creates a healing effect on the body by improving blood circulation.
 The treatment stimulates the cells leading to reduced inflammation in the body.
 Electrotherapy machines also stimulate muscle tissues for relaxation.
 It can also prevent muscle atrophy through EMS with muscle stimulation. 
Q&A

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