Chapter 6 Vocabulary

1) Actin - a protein that forms (together with myosin) the contractile filaments of muscle cells, and
is also involved in motion in other types of cells.
2) Aerobic respiration - A form of cellular respiration that requires oxygen in order to generate
energy.
3) All-or-none - Characterized by either a complete response or by a total lack of response or
effect, as in neurological action above a threshold:
4) Antagonist - any muscle that opposes the action of another
5) Cardiac muscle - The principal tissue of the vertebrate heart; composed of a syncytium of
striated muscle fibers.
6) Endomysium - The connective tissue layer surrounding an individual skeletal muscle fiber.
7) Epimysium - The connective-tissue sheath surrounding a skeletal muscle.
8) Fixator - A muscle whose action tends to hold a body part in a certain position or limit its
movement
9) Insertion - the act of implanting, or the condition of being implanted.
10) Involuntary - done without will or conscious control.
11) Isometric Contractions - Isometric exercise or isometrics are a type of strength training in which
the joint angle and muscle length do not change during contraction. Isometrics are done in static
positions, rather than being dynamic through a range of motion.
12) Isontic contractions - Exercise in which isotonic muscular contraction is used to strengthen
muscles and improve joint mobility.
13) Motor unit - a motor neuron and the muscle fibers innervated by its axon.
14) Myofibrils - any of the elongated contractile threads found in striated muscle cells.
15) Myofilaments - Any of the ultramicroscopic filaments, made up of actin and myosin, that are the
structural units of a myofibril.
16) Myosin - a protein of the myofibril, occurring chiefly in the A band; with actin it forms
actomyosin, which is responsible for the contractile properties of muscle.
17) Neuromuscular Junction - the area of contact between the ends of a large myelinated nerve
fiber and a fiber of skeletal muscle.
18) Neurotransmitter - a substance released from the axon terminal of a presynaptic neuron on
excitation, which diffuses across the synaptic cleft to either excite or inhibit the target cell
19) Origin - used when describing muscles, tendons, ligaments, nerves, and blood and lymph vessels
20) Oxygen debt - The amount of extra oxygen required by muscle tissue to oxidize lactic acid and
replenish depleted ATP and phosphocreatine following vigorous exercise.
21) Perimysium - The fibrous sheath enveloping each of the primary bundles of skeletal muscle
fibers.
22) Prime mover - a muscle that acts directly to bring about a desired movement.
23) Sacromere - a structural unit of a myofibril in striated muscle, consisting of a dark band and the
nearer half of each adjacent pale band.
24) Skeletal muscle - a muscle that is connected to the skeleton to form part of the mechanical
system that moves the limbs and other parts of the body.
25) Sliding filament mechanism - the process by which striated muscles change length, the overlap
of thin and thick filaments increasing as the muscle shortens and decreasing as it lengthens.
Describes the manner in which these length changes occur, but is not an explanation of the
mechanism of active shortening.
26) Smooth muscle - muscle tissue in which the contractile fibrils are not highly ordered, occurring
in the gut and other internal organs and not under voluntary control.
27) Striated - Marked with striae; striped, grooved, or ridged.
28) Synergist - a substance, organ, or other agent that participates in an effect of synergy.
29) Tendon - a flexible but inelastic cord of strong fibrous collagen tissue attaching a muscle to a
bone.
30) Voluntary - done, given, or acting of one's own free will.