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Developmental Aspects of the M uscular System (page 221)

• Increasing muscular control reflects the myelination maturation of the nervous system. Muscle
control is achieved in a cephalic/caudal and proximal/distal direction
• To remain healthy, muscles must be regularly exercised. Without exercise, they atrophy (a
reduction in size or wasting away of an organ or cell resulting from disease or lack of use); with
exercise, they hypertrophy (an increase in the size of a tissue or organ independent of the body’s
general growth).
• As we age, muscle mass decreases, and the muscles become more sinewy. Exercise helps to
retain muscle mass and strength.
• Homeostatic Imbalances:
o Muscular dystrophy: a progressive disorder marked by atrophy and stiffness of the
muscles
o Duchenne’s muscular dystrophy: the most common and serious form of muscular
dystrophy; expressed almost exclusively in boys and usually diagnosed between the ages of
2 and 7 years; active, normal-appearing children become clumsy and fall frequently as their
muscles weaken; the disease progresses from the extremities upward, finally affecting the
head and chest muscles; children with this disease rarely live beyond their twenties and
generally die of respiratory failure; the diseased muscle fibers lack a protein (called
dystrophin) that helps maintain the sarcolemma.
o Myasthenia gravis: a rare disease that can affect muscles during adulthood; a disease
characterized by drooping of the upper eyelids, difficulty in swallowing and talking, and
general muscle weakness and fatigability; involves a shortage of acetylcholine receptors at
neuromuscular junctions; the muscle cells are not stimulated properly and get progressively
weaker. Death usually occurs because of respiratory failure, the inability of the respiratory
muscles to function.
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Muscle Movements, Types, and Names

• Muscles and Body Movements
o Movement is attained due to a muscle moving an attached bone
o Muscles are attached at least 2 points:
 Origin = attachment to an immovable bone
 Insertion = attachment to a moveable bone
o Results of increased muscle use
 Increase in muscle size
 Increase in muscle strength
 Increase in muscle efficiency
 Muscle becomes more fatigue resistant
• Types of Ordinary Body Movements
o Flexion = bending; the movement that decreases the angle between bones
o Extension = movement that increases the angle of a joint, e.g., straightening a flexed knee
o Rotation = movement of a bone around its longitudinal axis
o Abduction = movement of a line away from the midline of the body
o Adduction = movement of a limb toward the body midline
o Circumduction = circular movement of a body part; a combination of flexion, extension,
abduction, and adduction
• Special Movements
o Dorsiflexion = up and down movement that includes lifting the foot so that its superior
surface approaches the shin (standing on your heels)
o Plantar flexion = depressing the foot (pointing your toes)
o Inversion = turn inward; turn the sole medially
o Eversion = special movement of the foot achieved by turning the sole laterally
o Supination = the outward rotation of the forearm causing palms to face anteriorly; turning
backward
o Pronation = the inward rotation of the forearm causing the radius to cross diagonally over
the ulna – palms face posteriorly; turning forward
o Opposition = the action by which the thumb is used to touch the tips of the other fingers on
the same hand. This unique action makes the human hand such a fine tool for grasping and
manipulating tools.
• Types of Muscles
o Prime mover = muscle with the major responsibility for a certain movement
o Antagonist = muscle that opposes or reverses a prime mover
o Synergist = muscle that aids prime mover in a movement and helps prevent rotation
o Fixator = stabilizes the origin of a prime mover
• Naming Skeletal Muscles
o Direction of muscle fibers
o Relative size of the muscle
o Location of the muscle
o Number of origins
o Location of the muscles origin and insertion
o Shape of the muscle
o Action of the muscle
• Muscles have several fascicle arrangements that influence their force and degree of shortening
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o Direct phosphorylation
 Muscle cells contain creatine phosphate (CP)
• CP is a high-energy molecule
 After ATP is depleted, ADP is left
 CP transfers energy to ADP, to regenerate ATP
 CP supplies are exhausted in about 20 seconds
o Aerobic (“with oxygen”) respiration
 Series of metabolic pathways that occur in the mitochondria
 Glucose is broken down to carbon dioxide and water, releasing energy
 This is a slower reaction that requires continuous oxygen
o Anaerobic (“without oxygen”) glycolysis
 Reaction that breaks down glucose without oxygen
 Glucose is broken down to pyruvic acid to produce some ATP
 Pyruvic acid is converted to lactic acid
 This reaction is not as efficient, but it is fast
• Huge amounts of glucose are needed
• Lactic acid produces muscle fatigue
• Muscle Fatigue and Oxygen Deficit
o When a muscle is fatigued, it is unable to contract
o The common reason for muscle fatigue is oxygen deficit
 Oxygen must be “repaid” to tissue to remove oxygen deficit
 Always occurs to some extent during vigorous muscle activity, whether fatigue
occurs or not
• During the recovery period after activity, the individual breathes rapidly and
deeply.
• This continues until the muscles have received the amount of oxygen that is
required to get rid of accumulated lactic acid and make ATP and creatine
phosphate reserves
 Increasing acidity (from lactic acid) and lack of ATP causes the muscle to contract
less
• Types of Muscle Contractions
o Isotonic contractions
 Myofilaments are able to slide past each other during contractions
 The muscle shortens
o Isometric contractions
 Tensions in the muscles increases
 The muscle is unable to shorten
• Muscle Tone
o Some fibers are contracted even in a relaxed muscle
o Different fibers contract at different times to provide muscle tone
o The process of stimulating various fibers is under involuntary control
• Effect of Exercise on Muscles
o Aerobic exercises, or endurance: Muscles subjected to regular aerobic exercise become
more efficient and stronger and can work longer without tiring. Aerobic exercise also
benefits other body systems
 Examples: participating in aerobics class, jogging, biking
o Isometric exercises, or resistance: Muscles challenged by resistance exercise to respond
(almost) beyond their ability increase in size and strength.
 Examples: weight training
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• Some relaxation occurs between contractions

• The results are summed
 Fused (complete) tetanus
• No evidence before the following contractions
• The result is a sustained muscle contraction
• Muscle Response to Strong Stimuli
o Muscle force depends upon the number of fibers stimulated
o More fibers contracting results in greater muscle tension
o Muscles can continue to contract unless they run out of energy
• Energy for Muscle Contraction
o Initially, muscles use stored ATP for energy
 Bonds of ATP are broken down to release energy
 Only 4-6 seconds worth of ATP is stored by muscles
o After this initial time, other pathways must be utilized to produce ATP (3)
 CP direct phosphorylation
 Aerobic respiration
 Anaerobic respiration (lactic acid formation)*
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• Myosin filaments have heads (extensions, or cross bridges)

• Myosin and actin overlap somewhat
• At rest, there is a bare zone that lacks actin filaments
• Sarcroplasmic reticulum (SR) – for storage of calcium

Skeletal M uscle Activity

• Properties of:
o Irritability = ability to receive and respond to a stimulus
o Contractility = ability to shorten when an adequate stimulus is received
• Nerve Stimulus to Muscles
o Skeletal muscles must be stimulated by a nerve to contract
o Motor unit
 One neuron
 Muscle cells stimulated by that neuron
o Neuromuscular Junctions = association site of nerve and muscle
o Synaptic cleft – gap between nerve and muscle
 Nerve and muscle do not make contact
 Area between the nerve and muscle filled with interstitial fluid
• Transmission of Nerve Impulse to Muscle
o Neurotransmitter = chemical released by nerve upon arrival of nerve impulse
 The neurotransmitter for skeletal muscle is acetylcholine
o Neurotransmitter attaches to receptors on the sarcolemma
o Sarcolemma becomes permeable to sodium (Na+)
o Sodium rushing into the cell generates an action potential (electrically charged gradient)
o Once started, muscle contraction can not be stopped
• Sliding Filament Theory of Muscle Contraction (Myosin binding is prevented, Ca+ modifies
shape, myosin binding occurs)
o Activation by nerve causes myosin heads (crossbridges) to attach to binding sites on the thin
filament
 Ca+ ions have to be released to bind to actin regulatory proteins (changing the
shape) so myosin heads can bind to the actin
o Myosin heads then bind to the next site of the thin filament
o This continued action causes a sliding of the myosin along the actin
o The result is that the muscle is shortened (contracted)
• Contraction of a Skeletal Muscle
o Muscle fiber contraction is “all or none”
o Within a skeletal muscle, not all fibers may be stimulated during the same interval
o Different combinations of muscle fiber contractions may give differing responses
o Graded responses = differing degrees of skeletal muscle shortening
o Graded muscle contraction can occur in 2 ways:
 By changing the frequency of muscle stimulation
 By changing the number of muscle cells being stimulated
o Types of Graded Response
 Twitch
• Single, brief contraction
• Not a normal muscle function
 Tetanus (summing of contractions)
• One contraction is immediately followed by another
• The muscle does not completely return to a resting state
• The effects are added
 Unfused (incomplete) tetanus
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Smooth Muscle Characteristics

• Has no striations
• Spindle-shaped cells
• Single nucleus
• Involuntary – no conscious control
• Found mainly in the walls of hollow visceral organs (other than heart)
Cardiac Muscle Characteristics
• Has striations
• Usually has a single nucleus
• Joined to another muscle cell at an intercalated disc
• Involuntary
• Only found in the heart
Functions of Muscles
• Produce movement
• Maintain posture
• Stabilize joints
• Generate heat
Microscopic Anatomy of Skeletal Muscle
• Cells are multinucleate
• Nuclei are just beneath the sarcolemma
• Sarcolemma = specialized plasma membrane
• Sarcoplasmic reticulum = specialized smooth endoplasmic reticulum
• Myofibril (many in a muscle fiber)
o Bundles of
myofilaments
o Myofibrils are
aligned to give
distinct bands
 I band =
light band
 A band =
dark band
• Sarcomere
o Contractile unit of a
muscle fiber (from
Z-disc to Z-disc)
Organization of the sarcomere
• Thick filaments = MYOSIN
filaments
o Composed of the
protein myosin
o Has ATPase
enzymes
• Thin filaments = ACTIN
filaments
o Composed of the
protein actin
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o Sites of muscle attachment

 Bones
 Cartilages
 Connective tissue coverings
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Anatomy Study Guide

Test: Thursday 1/27/11; covers pages 182-206, & 221
The Muscular System
• Muscles are responsible for all types of body movement
• Muscle Types (SEE COMPARISON CHART AT END)
o Skeletal
o Cardiac
o Smooth
Characteristics of Muscles
• Muscle cells are elongated (muscle cell = muscle fiber)
• Contraction of muscles is due to the movement of microfilaments
• All muscles share some terminology
o Prefix myo- refers to “muscle”
o Prefix mys- refers to “muscle”
o Prefix sarco- refers to “flesh”
Skeletal M uscle Characteristics
• Most are attached by tendons to bones
• Cells are multinucleate
• Striated – have visible banding
• Voluntary – subject to conscious control
• Cells are surrounded and bundled by connective tissue
• Connective Tissue Wrappings of Skeletal Muscle

o Endomysium – around single muscle fiber

o Perimysium – around a fascicle (bundle) of fibers
o Epimysium – covers the entire skeletal muscle (to tendon)
o Fascia – on the outside of the epimysium
• Skeletal Muscle Attachments
o Epimysium blends into a connective tissue attachment
 Tendon – cord-like structure (mostly collagen)
 Aponeuroses – sheet-like structure