HUMAN MUSCULAR SYSTEM
Dr. B. Suresh Chander Kapali,
Assistant Professor,
Department of Biomedical Engineering,
Easwari Engineering College
OVERVIEW
1. What is muscular system
2. Structure of Muscle Cell
3. Classification of Muscle
4. Physiology of Muscle Contraction
5. Function of Muscle Tissue
6. Properties of Muscle Tissue
WHAT IS MUSCULAR SYSTEM
• Human body has more than 600 muscles.
• Muscles perform many useful functions and help us in doing
everything in day-to-day life
• Muscular system is an organ system consisting
of skeletal, smooth and cardiac muscles.
• It permits movement of the body, maintains posture and
circulates blood throughout the body.
• Muscular systems in vertebrates are controlled through
the nervous system except some muscles.
• With the skeletal system, it forms the musculoskeletal system,
which is responsible for movement of the human body.
STRUCTURE OF MUSCLE CELL
MUSCLE MASS:
• Muscle tissue is made up of a large number of individual muscle cells
or myocytes.
• Muscle cells are commonly called muscle fibers because these cells
are long and slender in appearance.
• Skeletal muscle fibers are multinucleated and are arranged parallel to
one another with some connective tissue in between the fiber.
• Muscle mass is separated from the neighboring tissues by a thick
fibrous tissue layer known as fascia.
• Beneath the fascia, muscle is covered by a connective tissue sheath
called epimysium.
• Muscle fibers are arranged in various groups called bundles or
fasciculi.
• Connective tissue sheath that covers each fasciculus is called
perimysium. Each muscle fiber is covered by a connective tissue
layer called the endomysium
STRUCTURE OF MUSCLE CELL CONT.….
MUSCLE FIBER :
• Each muscle cell or muscle fiber is cylindrical in shape.
• Average length of the fiber is 3 cm.
• Varies between 1 cm and 4 cm, depending upon the
length of the muscle.
• Diameter of the muscle fiber varies from 10 µ to 100 µ.
• Muscle fibers are attached to a tough cord of connective
tissue called tendon.
• Tendon is in turn attached to the bone.
• Each muscle fiber is enclosed by a cell membrane
called sarcolemma, that lies beneath the endomysium
• Cytoplasm of the muscle is known as sarcoplasm
STRUCTURE OF MUSCLE CELL CONT.….
MYOFIBRIL:
• Myofibrils or myofibrillae are the fine parallel filaments
present in sarcoplasm of the muscle cell.
• Myofibrils run through the entire length of the muscle fiber.
• Cross-section of a muscle fiber, the myofibrils appear like
small distinct dots within the sarcoplasm.
• Light microscopic studies show that, each myofibril
consists of a number of two alternating bands
• Also called the sections, segments or disks.
• Bands are formed by muscle proteins they are:
1. Light band or ‘I’ band - Light band is called ‘I’
(isotropic) band because it is isotropic to polarized light.
2. Dark band or ‘A’ band - Light band is called ‘I’
(isotropic) band because it is isotropic to polarized light.
• I band is divided into two portions, by means of a narrow
and dark line called ‘Z’ line or ‘Z’ disk.
• The ‘Z’ line is formed by a protein disk, which does not
permit passage of light.
STRUCTURE OF MUSCLE CELL CONT.….
SARCOMERE:
• Sarcomere is defined as the structural and functional unit of a
skeletal muscle. It is also called the basic contractile unit of the
muscle.
• Each sarcomere extends between two ‘Z’ lines of myofibril.
• Each myofibril consists of an alternate dark ‘A’ band and light ‘I’
band.
• Middle of ‘A’ band, there is a light area called ‘H’ zone.
• Middle of ‘H’ zone lies the middle part of myosin filament. This is
called ‘M’ line
• ‘M’ line is formed by myosin binding proteins.
• Electron microscopic studies reveal that the sarcomere consists of
many threadlike structures called myofilaments.
• Myofilaments are of two types:
1. Actin filaments - These filaments extend from either side of
the ‘Z’ lines, run across ‘I’ band and enter into ‘A’ band up to ‘H’ zone
2. Myosin filaments - These filaments are situated in ‘A’ band.
CLASSIFICATION OF MUSCLE
• Muscles are classified by three different methods ,based on
different factors:
1. Depending upon the striations
2. Depending upon the control
3. Depending upon the situation.
DEPENDING UPON THE STRIATIONS:
• Depending upon the presence or absence of cross striations,
the muscles are divided into two groups:
1. Striated muscle – Striated muscle is the
muscle which has a large number of cross-striations. Skeletal
muscle and cardiac muscle belong to this category.
2. Non-striated muscle - Muscle which does
not have cross-striations is called non-striated muscle. It is also
called plain muscle or smooth muscle. It is found in the wall of
the visceral organs.
CLASSIFICATION OF MUSCLE CONT...
DEPENDING UPON THE CONTROL:
• Depending upon control the muscles are classified into two types:
1. Voluntary muscle- Voluntary muscle is the muscle that can be
controlled . Skeletal muscles are the voluntary muscles. These muscles are innervated by
somatic nerves.
2. Involuntary muscle- Muscle that cannot be controlled is called
involuntary muscle. Cardiac muscle and smooth muscle are involuntary muscles. These
muscles are innervated by autonomic nerves
CLASSIFICATION OF MUSCLE CONT...
DEPENDING UPON THE SITUATION:
• Depending upon situation the muscles are classified into
three types:
1. SKELETAL MUSCLE:
• Skeletal muscle refers to multiple bundles of cells
joined together called muscle fibers.
• Voluntary muscle is anchored by tendons to bone and
is used to effect skeletal movement such
as locomotion and in maintaining posture.
• Postural control is generally maintained as an
unconscious reflex, the muscles responsible react to
conscious control like non-postural muscles.
• Average adult male is made up of 42% of skeletal
muscle and an average adult female is made up of
CLASSIFICATION OF MUSCLE CONT...
2. Smooth muscle:
• Smooth muscle is an involuntary non-striated muscle.
• Divided into two subgroups:
Single-unit Smooth Muscle -
• Visceral smooth muscle is a type of smooth muscle found in
the uterus, gastro-intestinal tract and the bladder.
• Single smooth muscle cell in a bundle is innervated by
an autonomic nerve fiber.
• Action potential can be propagated through neighbouring muscle
cells due to the presence of many gap junctions between the cells
Multiunit Smooth Muscle
• Second type of smooth muscle cells that rarely possess gap
junctions and thus are not electrically coupled.
• Contraction does not spread from one cell to the next.
• Smooth muscle is observed in the large airways to the lungs, large
arteries, in hair follicles, and the internal eye muscles which
regulate light entry and lens shape.
CLASSIFICATION OF MUSCLE CONT...
3. CARDIAC MUSCLE:
• Cardiac muscle also called as myocardium is one of three types
of vertebrate muscles.
• Involuntary, striated muscle that constitutes the main tissue of the
walls of the heart.
• Myocardium forms a thick middle layer between epicardium and
endocardium , with blood supplied via the coronary circulation.
• Cardiac muscle contracts in a similar manner to skeletal muscle,
although with some important differences.
• Electrical stimulation in the form of an action potential triggers the
release of calcium from the cell's internal calcium store,
the sarcoplasmic reticulum.
• Increase in calcium causes the cell's myofilaments to slide past
CLASSIFICATION OF MUSCLE CONT...
PHYSIOLOGY OF MUSCLE
• Individual motor neuron plus the muscle fibres it
stimulates, is called a motor unit.
• Motor end plate is the junction of the motor neurons
axon and the muscle fibres it stimulates.
• Stimulates a reaction in each sarcomere between the
actin and myosin filaments.
• Results in the start of a contraction and the sliding
filament theory.
• Reaction, created from the arrival of an impulse
stimulates the 'heads' on the myosin filament to reach
forward, attach to the actin filament and pull actin
towards the centre of the sarcomere.
• Process occurs simultaneously in all sarcomeres, the
end process of which is the shortening of all
sarcomeres.
• Troponin is a complex of three proteins that are
PHYSIOLOGY OF MUSCLE CONT.…
• When the muscle is contract troponin is attached to the
protein tropomyosin within the actin filaments,
• When the muscle is relaxed tropomyosin blocks the
attachment sites for the myosin cross bridges, thus
preventing contraction.
• When the muscle is stimulated to contract by the nerve
impulse, calcium channels open in the sarcoplasmic
reticulum and release calcium into the sarcoplasm.
• This calcium attaches to troponin which causes a change in
the muscle cell that moves tropomyosin out of the way so
the cross bridges can attach and produce muscle
contraction.
PHYSIOLOGY OF MUSCLE CONT.…
• Sliding filament theory of muscle contraction can be broken
down into four distinct stages
1. MUSCLE ACTIVATION: The motor nerve
stimulates an action potential to pass down a neuron to the
neuromuscular junction. This stimulates the sarcoplasmic
reticulum to release calcium into the muscle cell.
2. MUSCLE CONTRACTION: Calcium floods into
the muscle cell binding with troponin allowing actin and
myosin to bind. The actin and myosin cross bridges bind and
contract using ATP as energy
3. RECHARGING: ATP is re-synthesised allowing
actin and myosin to maintain their strong binding state
4. RELAXATION: Relaxation occurs when
stimulation of the nerve stops. Calcium is then pumped back
into the sarcoplasmic reticulum breaking the link between
actin and myosin. Actin and myosin return to their unbound
state causing the muscle to relax.
FUNCTIONS OF MUSCLE TISSUE
• Movement.
• Maintenance of posture
• Respiration
• Heat generation
• Communication
• Constriction of organs and blood vessel
• Pumping blood
PROPERTIES OF MUSCLE TISSUE
1. Contractility : ability of muscle cells to forcefully shorten
2. Excitability: ability to respond to a stimulus, which may be delivered from a
motor neuron or a hormone.
3. Extensibility: ability of a muscle to be stretched. For instance
4. Elasticity: ability to recoil or bounce back to the muscle's original length after
being stretched
