} Three types of muscle tissues: Skeletal, Smooth and
Cardiac.
} Some basic functions and fundamental characteristics of
skeletal muscles.
} Function and Structure of skeletal muscle tissue
IE 665Applied Industrial Ergonomics } The nerve tissue and motor unit
} Microscopic anatomy of a skeletal muscle tissue
How a muscle tissue contracts
Suggested external links: Action potential
http://people.eku.edu/ritchisong/301notes3.htm Length tension characteristics of a muscle tissue
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0_ihc26yxN4&NR=1 } Force regulation in skeletal muscles
} How energy is metabolized for muscle contraction and
cellular respiration
} Fatigue in static and dynamic muscular work
• Skeletal muscle attaches to bones, holds the
skeleton against gravitational forces & moves
skeleton to produce motion
• Smooth muscles are present in the walls of blood
vessels, intestine & other 'hollow' organs. Its
rhythmic contraction moves body fluids.
• Cardiac muscle are present in the wall of the
heart. Its rhythmic contraction moves blood.
FOCUS OF THIS COURSE IS THE SKELETAL
MUSCLES
Striations
• It is under voluntary control. The
muscle can be contracted and • Involuntary muscle, ie.,
relaxed at will. not under voluntary
• It has a striated appearance under
control
microscope, which is due to the
orderly arrangement of the • Not striated under
contractile proteins within the microscope
tissue. • Not multinucleated
• The cells are cylindrical and
multinucleated. Nuclei
• Involuntary, ie., not under
voluntary control • Produces motion – fundamental
• Striated appearance under characteristics of all living things
microscope • Produces force (tension)
• Auto-rhythmic, ie. contracts • Maintains posture – works against
rhythmically without any nervous
gravitational forces
impulse (nerve impulse modifies
the rhythm) • Provides joint stability
• Not multinucleated • Produces heat as a bi-product of
• Rectangular in shape contraction
} Each skeletal muscle spans over
• Excitability - responds to stimuli (e.g., one or more skeletal joints and the
muscle contraction produces a
nervous and other impulses) force that tends to turn a bone
about its joint axis.
• Contractility - able to shorten in length } Skeletal muscles vary in size,
shape, and arrangement of
• Extensibility - stretches when pulled fibers. They range from extremely
tiny strands such as the stapedium
• Elasticity - tends to return to original muscle of the middle ear to large
masses such as the muscles of the
shape & length after contraction or }
thigh.
A gross muscle contains skeletal
extension muscle tissues, connective tissues,
nerve tissues, and vascular (blood
circulation) tissues. Out of these,
only the muscle tissue has the
contractile property.
Each muscle is surrounded by a } Skeletal muscle cells (fibers),
connective tissue sheath called the like other body cells, are soft
epimysium. Fascia, connective tissue
outside the epimysium, surrounds and and fragile. The connective
separates the muscles. Portions of the tissue covering furnish
epimysium project inward to divide the support and protection for the
muscle into compartments. Each delicate cells and allow them
compartment contains a bundle of
muscle fibers. Each bundle is called a to withstand the forces of
fasciculus and is surrounded by a layer contraction.
of connective tissue called the } Through these tough tissues
perimysium. Within the fasciculus, each
individual muscle cell, called a muscle contractile force of the muscle
fiber, is surrounded by connective tissue cells are transmitted to the
called the endomysium. All these bone.
connective tissue fuse together at the
two end and forms tendon, which } The coverings also provide
connects muscles to bones pathways for the passage of
blood vessels and nerves .
The connective tissues, the
} Skeletal muscles have an epimysium, perimysium, and
abundant supply of blood endomysium extend beyond the fleshy
part of the muscle to form a thick
vessels, approximately 2 ropelike tendon or a broad, flat sheet-
capillaries per muscle cell. like aponeurosis.
Capillaries supply the The tendon form attachments from
essential oxygen and muscles to the bones and aponeurosis
forms connection to the connective
nutrients to each muscle tissue of other muscles.
fiber. Typically a muscle spans a joint
} Since the capillaries spreads and is attached to bones by
evenly in the muscle body tendons at both ends. One of the
bones remains relatively fixed or
the smaller muscles cells stable while the other end moves as a
have more capillaries. result of muscle contraction.
Ligaments forms joint capsules are
fibrous tissues that connect bone
to bone.
} The nervous system is
} It is the major controlling, regulatory, and composed of central
communicating system in the body. If muscles are
power house, then the nerves are the control nervous system (brain
mechanism. and spinal chord) and
} It is the center of all mental activity including thought, peripheral nervous
learning, and memory. system (containing nerve
} Together with the endocrine system (producing cells external to the brain
hormones), the nervous system is responsible for or spinal cord).
regulating and maintaining homeostasis (regulates
internal environment so as to maintain a stable, } These, in turn, consist of
constant condition). various tissues, including
} Through its receptors, the nervous system keeps us nerve, blood, and
in touch with our environment, both external and connective tissue.
internal.
} Millions of sensory receptors detect changes, called stimuli, which } Axon terminals of one motor
occur inside and outside the body. They monitor such things as neuron innervate a number of
temperature, light, and sound from the external environment. Inside muscle cells that are dispersed
the body, the internal environment, receptors detect variations in randomly in the overall muscle
pressure, pH, carbon dioxide concentration, and the levels of mass. The muscle cells and
various electrolytes. All of this gathered information is called the single motor neuron that
sensory input (afferent nervous system). innervates them make one
} Sensory input is converted into electrical signals called nerve motor unit.
impulses that are transmitted to the brain. There the signals are
brought together to create sensations, to produce thoughts, or to } When the neuron of a motor unit sends a nerve impulse which
add to memory; Decisions are made each moment based on the exceeds a threshold value, all the muscle cells (fibers) of the motor
sensory input. This is integration. unit contract together. All or none principle
} Based on the sensory input and integration, the nervous system } Number of muscle cells controlled by a motor neuron varies.
responds by sending signals to muscles, causing them to contract, Muscles which require fine controls may have innervations of a f ew
or to glands, causing them to produce secretions. muscle cells per motor neuron, where as, when gross force
production is the primary objective, motor units innvervates large
} The nerve cells that send impulse to muscle cells are called motor
nerve (efferent nervous system). (over hundred) number of muscles cells.
Microscopic Structure of a Muscle Cell
Neucleus Sarcolema
Mitochondria
Contractile
proteins
Sarcolemma: Bi-layer lipid membrane, semi -permeable, has
specialized molecules that selectively control inflow and outflow of ions
} When the nerve impulse (electrical) reaches axon end, the from the extra-cellular space.
permeability of the synaptic vesicle membranes at its axon Motochondria: Organelle, where ATP (Adenosine Tri-phosphate) is
ends releases chemical neurotransmitter (acetylcholine). synthesized by oxidative process. ATP is only form of energy tha t
} This chemical binds with the muscle cell membrane muscle cells can utilize to produce mechanical energy.
molecules at the synaptic cleft (known as motor end
plate), and stimulates the muscle cell. Contractile proteins: Responsible for muscle contraction.
T-tubules and Sarcoplasmic reticulum Arrangement
of Protein filaments
Muscles cells are packed with
myofibrils.
Myofibrils are composed of two main
types of myo-filaments: thick and thin.
They are arranged in a very regular,
precise pattern.
Myosin – thick filaments
Actin – thin filaments
Sliding of the thin filaments over the
thick filaments causes sarcomere to
contract.
Sarcommere: The smallest contractile
unit.
Models of Protein filaments Review – U-tube video
} http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EdHzKYD
xrKc&feature=player_embedded
Single Action Potential: Initiation of muscle contraction
Resting potential of sarcolemma
} Nerve impulse (electrical) reaches the axon end of the
nerve cell. The Impulse releases a neurotransmitter
} In a resting muscle, there is a higher concentration of chemical (acetylcholine) that binds with specific molecules
at the motor end plate
Na+ ions in the extra-cellular space and a higher } Due to this chemical reaction, some molecules at the
concentration of K+ ions in the intracellular space motor end-plate change their shapes opening gates
(pores) for Na+ ions.
(inside the muscle cell membrane). } Na+ ions start to diffuse in the muscle cell. The influx of
} In resting state the muscle cell membrane remains Na+ ions locally depolarizes the cell membrane.
electrically polarized (i.e. outside has higher } After the depolarization reaches a threshold level, a local
electric current sets up between the depolarized region at
positive ion concentration than inside). This is due motor end plate and the neighboring polarized (resting)
regions of the cell membrane.
to the fact that K+ ions are small and can freely defuse
} This electric current opens more voltage sensitive Na-
across the cell membrane but larger Na+ ions cannot, gates on the cell membrane and causes Na+ ions influx in
which makes the cell membrane polarized. the neighboring region of the cell membrane.
} This newly depolarized region, in turn, depolarizes their
neighboring region and the depolarization wave
propagates in the outward direction from the motor end
plate, and travels the entire length of the muscle cell. This
phenomena is called Action Potential.
Action potential: Continued Conversion of chemical to
mechanical energy
} Action potential reaches deep in the muscle through the T-
tubules, which causes release of Ca+2 ions.
} Ca+2 ions binds with tropomyosin protien, and shifts the
troponin molecules to open the binding site of actin and
myosin.
} Myosin molecule attaches to actin molecule and change its
} The wave also reaches the deep inside of the cell body trough the t- shape, and sliding the actin molecule.
tubules.
} This whole phenomena starts with a single nerve stimulus that } With the presence of energy molecule (ATP), myosin
exceeds a threshold level. Once a single nerve stimulus level combines with ATP, and the mysin-actin bond is broken.
exceeds a threshold value, the action potential starts with the same } As long as ATP and Ca+2 ions are present, this process
intensity (all or none principal). Larger discharge of continues.
neurotransmitter would not produce stronger Action potential. } If no new nerve impulse is there, then Ca+2 ions are actively
} Right after the depolarization, acetylcholine is broken down by pushed back in to SR, and binding sites of actin-myosin are
enzymes and Na+ ions are actively (using energy molecules) closed and the sliding stops.
transported back to the outside of cell membrane and the cell
membrane returns to its normal polarized (resting) state.
Conversion of chemical to
mechanical energy (continued)
WATCH HOW MUSCLE CELLS CONTRACT
} http:// www.youtube.com/watch?v =gJ309LfHQ3M&feature
=player_embedded #!
} http:// www.mmi.mcgill.ca/mmimediasampler/
