ANATOMY and PHYSIOLOGY of

the Muscular System

THONG MENGYOU MD
Radiologist
Graduated From France
Radiology Department
Preah Kossamak Hospital
Learning Outcomes
After you have studied, you should be able to:
1. List the functions of muscle.
2. List the three types of muscle tissue and describe the locations and
characteristics of each.
3. Explain how muscle tissue generates energy.
4. Describe the structure of a skeletal muscle.
5. Define the terms origin and insertion.
6. List and define the various types of body movements produced by
skeletal muscles.
7. List and identify the major skeletal muscles of the body, and giving
the action of each.
8. Describe the changes that occur to the muscular system as a person
ages.
OUTLINE
Introduction
Properties of Muscle
Functions of Skeletal Muscles
Skeletal Muscle Structures
Origins Insertions and Actions
Naming of Skeletal Muscles
Major Skeletal Muscles
Lifespan Changes
Introduction
• The human body has more than 600 individual
muscles.

• Talking and walking, breathing and sneezing all

movements require muscles.

• Muscles are of three types:

Skeletal muscle

Cardiac muscle

Smooth muscle
Comparison of Skeletal, Cardiac,
and Smooth Muscles
Properties of Muscle
 Excitability: capacity of muscle to respond to a
stimulus
 Contractility: ability of a muscle to shorten and
generate pulling force
 Extensibility: muscle can be stretched back to its
original length
 Elasticity: ability of muscle to recoil to original
resting length after stretched
Functions of Skeletal Muscles

 Produce movement of the skeleton

 Maintain posture and body position

 Support soft tissues

 Guard entrances and exits

 Maintain body temperature

Skeletal Muscle Types

Muscle Types Based on Pattern of Fascicle Organization.

Skeletal Muscle Structures

 Muscle tissue (muscle cells or fibers)

 Connective tissues

 Blood vessels and nerves

Organization of Connective
Tissues
 Muscles have three layers of connective
tissues

Epimysium:
Separates muscle from surrounding tissues

Perimysium:
Surrounds muscle fiber bundles (fascicles)

Endomysium:
Surrounds individual muscle cells (muscle fibers)
The Organization of a Skeletal
Muscle
Organization of Connective
Tissues
 Muscle attachments
 Endomysium,
perimysium, and
epimysium come
together:
 To form a tendon
(bundle) or
aponeurosis (sheet)
Blood Vessels and Nerves
 Nerves

Skeletal muscles are voluntary muscles,

controlled by nerves of the central nervous
system (brain and spinal cord)
 Blood Vessels
Muscles have extensive vascular systems
that:
Supply large amounts of oxygen and nutrients
Carry away wastes
Skeletal Muscle Fibers
 The sarcolemma
 The cell membrane of a muscle fiber (cell)
 Surrounds the sarcoplasm (cytoplasm of muscle fiber)
A change in transmembrane potential begins
contractions

 Transverse tubules (T tubules)

 Transmit action potential through cell
 Allow entire muscle fiber to contract simultaneously
 Have same properties as sarcolemma
Skeletal Muscle Fibers
 Myofibrils
Subdivisionswithin muscle fiber
Made up of bundles of protein filaments
(myofilaments):
Myofilaments are responsible for muscle
contraction
Types of myofilaments:
Thin filaments:
 made of the protein actin
Thick filaments:
 made of the protein myosin
Skeletal Muscle Fibers
 The sarcoplasmic reticulum (SR)
A membranous structure surrounding each myofibril
 Helps transmit action potential to myofibril
 Forms chambers (terminal cisternae) attached to
T tubules
 Triad:

 Is formed by one T tubule and two terminal cisternae

 Cisternae:

 concentrate Ca2+ (via ion pumps)

 release Ca2+ into sarcomeres to begin muscle
contraction
Organization of a Skeletal
Muscle Fiber
Skeletal Muscle Fibers
 Sarcomeres

The contractile units of muscle

Structural units of myofibrils
Form visible patterns within myofibrils
 Muscle striations
A striped or striated pattern within myofibrils:
Alternating dark, thick filaments (A bands) and
light, thin filaments (I bands)
Skeletal Muscle Fibers

 Sarcomeres
 Zone of overlap:
 The densest, darkest area on a
light micrograph
 Where thick and thin filaments
overlap
 The H Band:
 The area around the M line
 Has thick filaments but no thin
filaments
Organization of a Skeletal
Muscle Fiber
Skeletal Muscle Fibers
 Sarcomere Function
 Transverse tubules encircle the sarcomere near
zones of overlap
 Ca2+ released by SR causes thin and thick filaments
to interact

 Muscle Contraction
 Is caused by interactions of thick and thin filaments
 Structures of protein molecules determine
interactions
Skeletal Muscle Fibers
 Thin and Thick Filaments
 Thin filaments:
 F-actin (filamentous actin):
 two twisted rows of globular G-actin
 Tropomyosin;
 prevents actin–myosin interaction
 Troponin:
 controlled by Ca2+
 Thick filaments:
 Contain twisted myosin subunits
 Tail:
 binds to other myosin molecules
 Head:
 made of two globular protein subunits
 reaches the nearest thin filament
Organization of a Skeletal Muscle
Fiber
Skeletal Muscle Fibers
 Thin and Thick Filaments
 Ca2+ binds to receptor on troponin molecule
 Troponin–tropomyosin complex changes
 Exposes active site of F-actin
 Sliding filament theory
 Thinfilaments of sarcomere slide toward M line,
alongside thick filaments
 The width of the A zone remains the same
Z lines move closer together
Sarcomere Shortening
Sarcomere Shortening
The Neuromuscular Junction
 Action potential (electrical signal)
 Travels along nerve axon
 Ends at synaptic terminal:
Synaptic terminal:
releases neurotransmitter
(acetylcholine or ACh)
into the synaptic cleft (gap between
synaptic terminal and motor end plate)
Structure and Function of the
Neuromuscular Junction
Structure and Function of the
Neuromuscular Junction
Structure and Function of the
Neuromuscular Junction
Structure and Function of the
Neuromuscular Junction
Structure and Function of the
Neuromuscular Junction
The Contraction Cycle

 Five Steps of the Contraction Cycle

 Exposure of active sites
 Formation of cross-bridges
 Pivoting of myosin heads
 Detachment of cross-bridges
 Reactivation of myosin
Molecular Events of the
Contraction Process
Molecular Events of the
Contraction Process
Molecular Events of the
Contraction Process
Molecular Events of the Contraction
Process
Molecular Events of the Contraction
Process
Molecular Events of the Contraction
Process
ATP and Muscle Contraction
 Sustained muscle contraction uses a
lot of ATP energy
 Muscles store enough energy to start
contraction
 Muscle fibers must manufacture
more ATP as needed
ATP and CP Reserves
 Adenosine triphosphate (ATP)
 The active energy molecule
 Creatine phosphate (CP)
 The storage molecule for excess ATP energy in
resting muscle
 Energy recharges ADP to ATP
 Usingthe enzyme creatine phosphokinase
(CPK or CK)
 WhenCP is used up, other mechanisms
generate ATP
ATP Generation
 Cells produce ATP in two ways
Aerobic metabolism of fatty acids in
the mitochondria
Anaerobic glycolysis in the cytoplasm
ATP Generation
 Aerobic metabolism
 Is the primary energy source of resting muscles
 Breaks down fatty acids
 Produces 34 ATP molecules per glucose molecule
 Anaerobic glycolysis
 Isthe primary energy source for peak muscular
activity
 Produces two ATP molecules per molecule of
glucose
 Breaks down glucose from glycogen stored in
skeletal muscles
Muscle Fatigue
 When muscles can no longer perform a
required activity, they are fatigued
 Results of Muscle Fatigue
 Depletion of metabolic reserves
 Damage to sarcolemma and sarcoplasmic
reticulum
 Low pH (lactic acid)
 Muscle exhaustion and pain
The Recovery Period
 The time required after exertion for muscles
to return to normal
 Oxygen becomes available
 Mitochondrial activity resumes
 Heat Loss
 Active muscles produce heat
 Up to 70% of muscle energy can be lost as heat,
raising body temperature
The Recovery Period
 Lactic Acid Recycling
Converts lactic acid to pyruvic acid
Glucose is released to recharge muscle
glycogen reserves
Oxygen debt:
After exercise or other exertion:
 The body needs more oxygen than usual to
normalize metabolic activities
Origins Insertions and
Actions
 Origin
Muscle attachment that remains fixed
 Insertion
Muscle attachment that moves
 Action
What joint movement a muscle produces
 Primary Action Categories
 Prime mover (agonist):
 Main muscle in an action
 Synergist:
 Helper muscle in an action
 Antagonist:
 Opposed muscle to an action
Body Movements

Flexion – bending a Plantar flexion – pointing

body part the toes down

Extension – Abduction – moving a body

straightening a body
part part away from the
anatomical position
Hyperextension –
extending a body Adduction – moving a body
part past the normal part toward the
anatomical position anatomical position

Dorsiflexion –
pointing the toes up
Body Movements
Circumduction – moving a Inversion – turning the sole of
body part in a circle the foot medially

Pronation – turning the palm Eversion – turning the sole of

of the hand down the foot laterally

Supination – turning the Retraction – moving a body

palm of the hand up part posteriorly

Elevation – lifting a body part; for Protraction – moving a body

example, elevating the shoulders part anteriorly
as in a shrugging expression

Depression – lowering a body

part; for example, lowering the
shoulders
The Naming of Skeletal
Muscles
 Correct names of muscles include the term muscle
 Exceptions
 Platysma
 Diaphragm

 Descriptive Names for Skeletal Muscles

 Location in the body
 Origin and insertion
 Fascicle organization
 Relative position
 Structural characteristics
 Action
Major Skeletal Muscles
Muscles of the Head and Neck
Muscles of Facial
Expression
Muscles of Facial Expression
and Mastication
Extrinsic Muscles of the Eye
Extrinsic Muscles of the
Eye
Muscles of Mastication
Muscles That Move the
Tongue
Muscles of the Pharynx
Muscles of the Pharynx
Muscles That Move the
Head and Neck
Muscles That Move the Head
and Neck
Muscles of the Neck
Muscles of the Neck
Muscles of the Vertebral Column
Muscles of the Vertebral Column
Muscles of Respiration
Muscles of Breathing
Muscles of the Abdominopelvic
Wall
Muscles of the Abdominopelvic
Wall
Muscles of the Pelvic Floor
Muscles of the Pelvic Floor
Muscles of the Pelvic
Floor
Muscles That Move the Pectoral
Girdle and Upper Limb

Anterior Muscles Associated with the Proximal Upper Limb

Muscles That Move the
Pectoral
Girdle and Upper Limb

Posterior Muscles Associated with the Proximal Upper Limb.

Muscles That Move the
Pectoral
Girdle and Upper Limb
Muscles That Move the
Glenohumeral Joint/Arm
Muscles That Move the
Glenohumeral Joint/Arm
Arm and Forearm Muscles That
Move the Elbow Joint/Forearm

Anterior Muscles That Move the Elbow Joint/Forearm

Arm and Forearm Muscles That
Move the Elbow Joint/Forearm
Arm and Forearm Muscles
That Move the Elbow
Joint/Forearm
Anterior Forearm Muscles.
Forearm Muscles That Move
the Wrist Joint, Hand, and
Fingers
Forearm Muscles That Move
the Wrist Joint, Hand, and
Fingers
Intrinsic Muscles of the
Hand
Intrinsic Muscles of the Hand
Muscles That Move the Pelvic
Girdle and Lower Limb
Muscles That Move the Hip
Joint/Thigh
Muscles That Move the Hip
Joint/Thigh
Muscles That Act on the Hip
and Thigh
Muscles of the Thigh
Thigh Muscles That Move the
Knee Joint/Leg
Muscles of the Leg
Leg Muscles
Plantar Intrinsic Muscles of
the Foot
Intrinsic Muscles of the Foot
Lifespan Changes
 With age, connective tissue increases and muscle fibers
decrease
 Muscles become stringier and more sinewy
 By age 80, 50% of muscle mass is lost (sarcopenia)
 Decreased density of capillaries in muscle
 Reduced stamina
 Increased recovery time
 Regular exercise reverses sarcopenia
References documents:
1. Principles of ANATOMY & PHYSIOLOGY 14th Edition, 2014 by Gerard J. Tortora
Bergen Community College Bryan Derrickson Valencia Community College
2. Gray's Anatomy for Students, 3'd Edition 2015
3. Gray's Atlas of Anatomy, 2nd Edition 2015
4. HUMAN ANATOMY, 3'd Edition 2008 by Michael McKinley Glendale Community
College Valerie Dean O’Loughlin Indiana University
5. A.D. A.M Interactive Anatomy 4th Edition by SCOTT D. SCHAEFFER
Associate Professor of Biology, Harford Community College Bel Air, Maryland