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THE MUSCULAR SYSTEM

Functions of Muscular Tissue:
Create Motion: muscles work with nerves, bones, and joints to
produce body movements
Excitable or irritable: ability to respond to stimulus
Contractible: They can shorten in length
Extensible: they can stretch or extend
Elastic: they can return to their original shape
Maintain posture and stabilize body positions
Store substances within the body using sphincters
Move substances by peristaltic contractions in the digestive
tract
Thermogenesis: generate heat through muscle contraction

THREE TYPES OF MUSCULAR TISSUE

SKELETAL

LOCATION
Skeleton

FUNCTION
Movement,
heat, posture

CARDIAC

Heart

Pump blood
continuously

SMOOTH OR
VISCERAL

Walls of
hollow
visceral
organs like
G.I tract,
uterus, eye,
blood vessels

Peristalsis
Blood
Pressure
Pupil Size

APPEARANCE
Striated
Multi
nucleated
Fibers parallel
Striated,
Branching,
one central
nucleus
One central
nucleus, No
striations

CONTROL
Voluntary

Involuntary

Involuntary

SMOOTH MUSCLES:
Otherwise known as Visceral muscles
Involuntary cant be consciously controlled
Found mainly on the walls of hollow visceral organs such as the
stomach, urinary bladder lumen of blood vessels, respiratory passages,
Arranged in sheets or layers as the two layers alternately contract and
relax as they change size and shape of the organ
Ex: movement of food through the digestive tract, emptying of bladder

CARDIAC MUSCLES:
Found only in the HEART
Involuntary
The structural feature and the spiral arrangement of the muscle bundle
in the heart allow heart activity to be closely coordinated

SKELETAL MUSCLES: Characteristics:

Attached to skeleton by tendons
Cause movement of bones at the joints
They fatigue
Functions:
1. Movement: muscles move bones by pulling not pushing

Synergist: any movement generally accomplished by

more than one muscle
Agonist or Prime Mover : muscle
that is most
responsible for the movement
Antagonist: Cause opposite actions
Ex: Biceps flex an arm and Triceps extend the arm
Levators: muscles that raise a part
Ex: Levator Scapulae: Situated at the back and side of
neck, a strap like muscle of the shoulder that helps raise
and rotate the shoulder blade

2. Maintenance of Posture or Muscle Tone: due to tonic contractions

of skeletal muscles. These dont produce movement yet hold our
muscles in position.
3. Heat production: contraction of muscles produce most of the heat
required to maintain body temperature.
The Skeletal Muscle Fiber: The basic functional unit of skeletal muscle
fibers is the SARCOMERE: an arrangement of THICK AND THIN
FILAMENTS. The thin filaments are comprised mostly of the structural
protein ACTIN, and the thick filaments are comprised mostly of the
structural protein MYOSIN.
THE SLIDING FILAMENT MECHANISM:
With the exposure of the myosin binding sites on actin (thin filaments)in the presence of Ca++ and ATP the thick and thin filaments slide on one
another and the sarcomere is shortened.
SKELETAL MUSCLE METABOLISM:
In a state of homeostasis, muscle use of oxygen and nutrients is
balanced by the production of manageable levels of waste products
like:
CO2
Heat 70-80% of the energy used by muscles is lost as heat
muscle activity is important for maintaining body temperature.
Lactic acid
The Motor Unit:
1. Contraction of a Single Muscle Fiber
All-or-None Principle of muscle contraction: Whenever a muscle
is stimulated by a stimulus of greater strength, it always contracts
COMPLETELY. Thus a muscle fiber either contracts completely or not

at all. Contraction is not proportional to the strength of the stimulus.

This is a characteristic of individual muscle fibers.

2. Contraction of Whole Muscles:

Three stages:
a. Latent Period: Brief interval before the muscle starts to contract
after a stimulus is applied.
b. Contraction Period: The muscle contracts ( shortens ) rapidly
during this period.
c. Relaxation Period: the muscle returns to its former length
d. Refractory period: Temporary loss of excitability
MUSCLE CONTRACTION:
1. Isotonic Contraction: results in movement and literally same tone or
tension, when a muscle shortens and movement occurs .
Ex: bending the knee, rotating the arms, smiling
2. Isometric Contraction: results in no movement , here filaments try
to slide but seems like the muscles are pitted against an immovable
object.
Pushing against a wall with bent elbows and the wall does
not move
Supporting objects in a fixed position and posture
IMBALANCES OF HOMEOSTASIS:
1. Exercise-Induced Muscle Damage: Happens after intense exercise
sarcolemmas ( plasma membrane of a muscle cell ) are torn as seen in
an electron micrograph.
2. Spasm: Sudden involuntary contraction of a single muscle within a
large group of muscles and is usually painless
3. Cramps: Involuntary and often painful muscle contractions, caused by
inadequate blood flow to the muscles such as in dehydration, overuse
and injury and abnormal blood electrolyte levels
4. Tetanus: A series of stimuli bombarding a muscle before each
contraction cycle. It is single , brief, jerky contractions. Sometimes as a
result of certain nervous system problems.
Where tetanus is applied:
a. Walking which requires a high frequency of stimuli from the brain and
spinal cord to the muscles of the legs which respond by a series of
sustained contractions.
b. Running and jumping: require a high frequency of stimuli resulting in
a temporary state of complete tetanus to produce a forceful series of
contractions.

5. Muscle Fatigue: when a muscle is unable to contract even though it

is still being stimulated
REASON: Result from oxygen debt that occurs during prolonged
muscle activity. This happens when a person is not able to take in
oxygen fast enough to keep the muscles supplied with all the oxygen
they need when they are working vigorously.

Furthermore , lack of oxygen causes lactic acid to accumulate and ATP

supply starts to run low that causes muscle to contract less and less
then finally stops.
Ex: happens to marathoners who collapse
6. Aging: In part due to decreased levels of physical activity, with aging
humans undergo a slow , progressive loss of skeletal muscle mass that
is replaced largely by fibrous connective tissue and adipose tissue.
Muscle strength at age 85 is about half that at age 25.