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Muscles
Kinds of muscle
Humans have over 650 muscles which differ in size according to the jobs they do.
These muscles constitute 40% of body weight. The special function of muscle tissue
is contraction. (1)
Most of the body's muscle consists of striated muscle
which is the skeletal muscle. It is also called voluntary muscle because it can be
consciously controlled via the central nervous system. Smooth muscle is the
muscle of the internal organs and is called involuntary because it is not under
voluntary control. Cardiac muscle is a special type of muscle found only in the
heart. It consists of linked fibers that contract in unison producing the heartbeat.
(2)
They are mostly attached to the bones to move the skeleton and are
fast acting and powerful. The voluntary muscles are of three series: those more or
less arranged around the axial skeleton (head, neck, and trunk), and those
nonsegmentally arranged around the appendicular skeleton (arms and legs), and
those associated with the visceral skeleton (brachiometric muscles). All muscles
have basically the same structure. (3)
The point of origin is the point of
attachment where the muscle is anchored to the bone. The point of insertion is the
attachment of the muscle to the bone it moves. These muscles are attached either
directly or indirectly (via tendons) to the bones, and work in opposing pairs (one
muscle in the pair contracts, while the other relaxes) to produce body movements
(The muscles work together to produce movement of a joint, to steady a joint, and
to prevent movement in the direction opposite to those intended.). As a rule, only
the insertion bone moves.
(4)
The origin bone stays put, holding firm while the insertion bone moves
toward it. These muscles always tire with continued use and require rest.
Because of their cross-striped appearance under a microscope, these muscles are
called striated. There are two types of striated muscle: dark fibers and light fibers.
The dark fibers are a deep red color and predominantly produce slow, tonic
movement. (5)
Each muscle fiber is encased in a thin, transparent
membrane called the sarcolemma. The fibers are subdivided longitudinally into
minute fibrils and myofibrils encased in a fluid called sacroplasm. The muscle cells
are elongated tubular structures with as many as several hundred nuclei and are
actually fusions of cells (syncytia). The muscles are bound together in bundles of
white fibrous connective tissue called perimysia. Striated muscles not directly
under voluntary control include vocal cord muscles and the diaphragm.
A. The striated muscle cells, which comprise about 40% of the body weight, are
voluntary.
B. The shortening of the muscle as it contracts pulls the insertion bone toward
the origin bone.
C. There are three kinds of muscle tissue: striated muscle, smooth muscle, and
cardiac muscle.

D. Each muscle has an attachment at both ends, called the origin and insertion,
and a fleshy contractile part, called the muscle belly.
E. The fibers are cylindrical in shape and are several centimeters long, with
regular bands (striations) dividing them into sections
F. The light fibers are lighter in color and predominantly produce quick and
contracted motions.

Smooth-muscle cells are not attached to the skeleton, but are found in the walls of
the blood vessels, the digestive tract, and in the dermal layer of the skin. They
react slowly to stimuli from the autonomic nervous system and perform actions
such as forcing food through the intestines, transporting urine to the kidneys and
pumping blood through blood vessels. The muscle is
nonstriated (lacks the striped appearance) and consist of spindle-shaped,
uninuclear cells that are not bound together, as in skeletal muscle. Like skeletal
muscle, smooth muscle has fibrillae but without cross striations. The muscles are
involuntary, and are slow-acting, untiring, and weak in action.
Cardiac muscle is red-colored involuntary muscle that contracts automatically and
rhythmically, like a smooth muscle, but is striated (striped) and multinucleated, like
skeletal muscle. The muscle is fast-acting and powerful. It is under the control of
the autonomic nervous system and continuously contracts and relaxes throughout
life.
Skeletal muscles contract rapidly in response to messages from the central nervous
system. Each group of several fibers receives a nerve supply that allows voluntary
contraction of the muscle. Muscles can move some body parts in several directions
and others in only two directions. The direction the body part is moved depends
largely on the shapes of the bones at the joints. The stimulus for the muscle
contraction begins in the cerebral cortex and passes down the spinal cord and the
nerve root to the junction between the nerve fiber and the muscle surface. This
gap, called the end plate, acts as a kind of amplifier, increasing the effect of the tiny
current coming down the nerve fiber to stimulate the much larger muscle fiber. On
the arrival of the nerve impulse, a chemical called acetylcholine is released from the
motor nerve ending and passes across the gap to stimulate the membrane of the
muscle fiber. This stimulation is in the form of an electric current which passes
along the surface of the muscle, causing it to contract. It takes one millisecond
(1/1000th of a second) for the current to pass along the surface of the muscular
fiber.
Cardiac muscle differs slightly from skeletal muscle because it has a built-in
mechanism to maintain the necessary rhythmical contraction independently of any
nervous connections. Smooth muscles react much more slowly to stimulation than
skeletal muscles. The nerves, when present, alter the activity of the muscle rather
than initiating it. This action is somewhat similar to cardiac muscle. The
contractions take place rhythmically without direct control from the central nervous
system. The impulses for contraction come from within the muscle itself.
Muscles work by contracting and relaxing. During contraction they shorten their
length to bring the bone closer to their points of attachment on two different bones.

Every muscle movement, therefore, is a pull. This pulling action is accomplished by


the fibers and fibrils of the muscle. All skeletal muscles are made up of small
fibers. The fibers are cylindrical in shape and are several centimeters long, with
regular bands (striations) dividing them into sections. The fibers are made up of
many cylindrical subunits called fibrils. These are the structures that actually
contract. Muscular fibers are able to shorten 30% to 40% in length during muscle
contraction. Fibrils are made of two types of protein: actin and myosin. These
proteins are in the form of long filaments. The filaments made of myosin are thicker
than the filaments made of actin. These filaments interlock and are able to slide
over each other, shortening the length of the muscle. When the muscle is stretched
the filaments tend to be pulled apart. During shortening (contraction), they shorten
by sliding into one another. It appears that during contraction several cross-links
are made between the actin and myosin filaments. By the process of making and
breaking these cross-links, the two filaments move towards one another and the
whole muscle shortens. This process is very rapid. Cardiac muscle has a similar
appearance to skeletal muscle. It has striations and is thought to contract in the
same manner as the skeletal muscle. Smooth muscle has no striations and is
composed of small spindle-shaped cells totally lacking in filaments. Researchers
still do not understand the mechanism of smooth muscle contraction.
The muscles are biological machines which convert chemical energy into force and
mechanical work. The energy for contraction comes from the mechanical reaction
between the food we eat and the oxygen we breathe. Almost all the sugars in food
are converted into glucose, the fuel of muscles. Muscles, therefore, need a good
blood supply to bring nutrients and oxygen and to remove chemical waste
products. The actual chemical process involves the breakdown of glucose to carbon
dioxide and water. This process releases energy which is used by the muscle
proteins to cause contraction. This process is known as aerobic glycolysis and
involves first the production of a 3-carbon substance, pyruvate, which when
combined with oxygen, is broken down further to water and carbon dioxide by a
cycle of enzymes in the mitochondria, the Krebs cycle. This chemical reaction
requires a great supply of oxygen, which is often not available during intense
exercise. During exercise, a muscle requires about fifty times more oxygen per
minute than at rest. To overcome this low level of oxygen the muscles are able to
convert the glucose into a substance called lactic acid, without the use of oxygen,
which still gives the necessary release of energy. For a short period of time, this
process, called anaerobic glycolysis, is a highly efficient means of harvesting
energy. Unfortunately, an accumulation of lactic acid from intense exercise causes
the energy processes within a cell to cease, which eventually fatigues the muscles
and causes cramps. Removal of lactic acid requires oxygen. To acquire the large
amount of oxygen required, the body causes panting after exercise. The lactic acid
is removed as normal circulation is re-established. Muscles are also able to store
glucose. It is stored in the form of glycogen (a carbohydrate) granules. This store is
used during exercise.
Muscular system
The human body contains more than 650 individual muscles anchored to the
skeleton, which provide pulling power so that you can move around. These muscles
constitute about 40% of your total body weight. The muscle's points of attachment
to bones or other muscles are designated as origin or insertion. The point of origin
is the point of attachment to the bone to which the muscle is anchored. The point

of insertion is the point of attachment to the bone the muscle moves. Generally,
the muscles are attached by tough fibrous structures called tendons. These
attachments bridge one or more joints and the result of muscle contraction is
movement of these joints. The body is moved primarily by muscle groups, not by
individual muscles. These groups of muscles power all actions ranging from the
threading of a needle to the lifting of heavy weights.

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