THE MUSCULAR SYSTEM

The general structure of a muscle fiber include (Fig. 10.2, p. 347) myofibrils (chains of
repeating subunits) composed of two kinds of filaments:
• thin filaments (composed of myosin) and thick filaments (composed
of actin, tropomyosin and troponin) that interact by binding to produce a sliding
movement between the filaments, and that creates tension in the muscle fiber
leading to muscle contraction.
There are three generally recognized muscle tissue
types: smooth, cardiac and skeletal, each tissue type with a distinct location in the
body, cellular organization (histology), and general action of the muscle fibers
(physiology)

Because of the multiple functions of muscles, criteria for classifying muscles include:

1. Color
• red - highly vascularized and rich in myoglobin; resist fatigue
• white - low vascularization and lower in myoglobin; quicker to
fatigue
2. Location
• somatic - move bone or cartilage
• visceral - control activities of organs, vessels, or ducts
3. Nervous system control
• voluntary - under immediate conscious control
• involuntary - are not
4. Embryonic origin
• found lining the walls of blood vessels, visceral organs (such as the digestive
tract and uterus) and are also found attached to hairs in the integument.
• two general types:
- unitary smooth muscle has self-initiated or myogenic contraction to
aid in sustaining the rhythmic movement of the organ with which it is
associated
- multiunit smooth muscle has neurogenic contraction, which requires
action potentials sent by neurons to regulate its action.
Cardiac muscle
 • are found solely in the musculature of the heart wall
• in cardiac muscle the branching of the cells increase its overall connectivity and
the cells are firmly united with each other through theintercalated disks
• cardiac muscle does not fatigue readily, which is a desirable trait in the muscles
that maintain circulation of blood
• action of the cardiac muscle fibers shows mixed control, such that the myogenic
rhythm of the heart is maintained by neurogenic control and the entire unit of the
cardiac muscle acts as a syncytium, or single functional unit
Skeletal muscle
• skeletal muscles are closely associated with the skeleton and are used in
locomotion
• each skeletal muscle fiber is also a syncytium due to the close
connection between cellular units
• fibers are closely associated with connective tissues and are under
voluntary control by the nervous system.

Smooth Cardiac Skeletal

Histology
Striated? Not striated Striated Striated
Shape Spindle-shaped Cylindrical Cylindrical
Branched? Not branched Branched Not branched
Nucleus location Nucleus central Nucleus central Nucleus peripheral
Disks? No disks Intercalated disks No disks

Physiology
Neurological control Involuntary Involuntary Voluntary
Speed of action Slow Fast Fast

General Muscle terminology

As you are familiar with from lab, many unique terms are associated with the muscular
system, ranging from describing how a muscle works to the general shape of the
muscle itself.

The term "muscle" has at least two meanings:

• muscle cell or fiber - the active contractile component: muscle cells and their
endomysium
• muscle organ - the whole organ: muscle cells plus associated connective
tissues, nerves, blood supply
A skeletal muscle attaches to bone (or sometimes other muscles or tissues) at two or
more places. If the place is a bone that remains immobile for an action, the attachment
is called an origin. If the place is on the bone that moves during the action, the
attachment is called an insertion. The triceps brachii happens to have four points of
attachment: oneinsertion on the ulna and three origins (two on the humerus and one on
the scapula).
The muscles surrounding synovial joints are responsible for moving the body in space.
These muscle actions are often paired, like flexion and extension or abduction and
adduction. Below the common terms are listed and defined, with animations to help you
picture the muscles and joints in motion.

Flexion and extension. Flexion and extension are usually movements forward and
backward from the body, such as nodding the head.

Flexion: decreasing the angle between two bones (bending).

Extension: increasing the angle between two bones (straightening a bend).

The triceps brachii and anconeus are muscles that extend the elbow. The biceps
brachii, brachialis, and brachioradialis flex the elbow

Abduction and adduction.

Abduction and adduction are usually side-to-side movements, such as moving the arm
laterally when doing jumping jacks.

Abduction: moving away from the body’s midline.

Adduction: moving toward the body’s midline.

The gluteus medius, gluteus minimus, tensor fasciae latae, and sartorius are muscles
that abduct the hip. The pectineus, adductor longus, adductor brevis, adductor magnus,
and gracilis adduct the hip.

Pronation and supination.

Describing the rotation of the forearm back and forth requires special terms. Spread
your fingers out and look at the palms of your hands and the fingers and then rotate
your palms to look at your nails. Now look at your palms again. That’s forearm
supination and pronation.

Pronation: rotating the forearm so the palm is facing backward or down.

Supination: rotating the forearm so the palm is facing forward or up

Elevation and depression.

Elevation and depression are up-and-down movements, such as chewing or shrugging
your shoulders. When you move the mandible down to open the mouth, that’s mandible
depression. Move the mandible back up, that’s mandible elevation.

Elevation: moving a body part up.

Depression: moving a body part down.

Protraction and retraction.

By moving your jaw back and forth in a jutting motion, you are protracting and retracting
your mandible.

Protraction: moving a bone forward without changing the angle.

Retraction: moving a bone backward without changing the angle.

Inversion and eversion.

You invert your foot when you turn it inward to see what is stuck under your shoe. You
evert your foot to put the sole of your shoe back on the floor.

Inversion: turning the sole of the foot inward.

Eversion: turning the sole of the foot outward

Dorsiflexion and plantar flexion.

You dorsiflex your feet to walk on your heels, and plantar flex them to tiptoe.

Dorsiflexion: bringing your foot upward toward your shin.

Plantar flexion: depressing your foot.

While many muscles may be involved in any given action, muscle function terminology
allows you to quickly understand the various roles different muscles play in each
movement.

Prime movers and antagonist. The prime mover, sometimes called the agonist, is the
muscle that provides the primary force driving the action. An antagonist muscle is in
opposition to a prime mover in that it provides some resistance and/or reverses a given
movement. Prime movers and antagonists are often paired up on opposite sides of a
joint, with their prime mover/antagonist roles reversing as the movement changes
direction.

Synergists. One or more synergists are often involved in an action. Synergists are
muscles that assist the prime mover in its role.
Stabilizers. Stabilizers act to keep bones immobile when needed. Your back muscles,
for example, are stabilizers when they are keeping your posture sturdy.