Muscular System
Introduction
The muscular system is the
series of muscles throughout the
body that moves the skeleton,
maintains posture through
steady contraction, circulates
blood throughout the body and
generates heat through cell
metabolism.
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Introduction
They provide movement and force.
Muscles make up the bulk of the body and account for
1/3rd of its total weight.
Muscle tissue is made up of muscle fibers. Thousands,
or even tens of thousands, of small fibers make up each
muscle
Most muscles usually work in pairs
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How do they work together?
The musculoskeletal system consists of the
skeletal system -- bones and joints and the skeletal
muscle system. These two systems work together to
provide basic functions that are essential to life,
including:
Protection
Support
Blood cell formation
Mineral homeostasis
Storage: stores fat and minerals.
Leverage
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Microscopic Anatomy
Muscle Fiber (Cell): The basic unit of a muscle, long and cylindrical in skeletal muscle,
branched in cardiac muscle, and spindle-shaped in smooth muscle.
Myofibrils: Bundles of actin (thin) and myosin (thick) filaments within muscle fibers,
responsible for contraction.
Sarcomeres: The structural and functional unit of a myofibril, defined by Z-lines; the
region where actin and myosin filaments overlap, allowing for muscle contraction.
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Muscle Function
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Muscle Function
There are two essential
proteins involved in
muscle function.
– Actin
– Myosin
They overlap at an area
called the sarcomere.
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Major types of muscles
Anatomical:
•Skeletal muscle
•Cardiac muscle
•Smooth muscle
Functional:
•Voluntary
•Involuntary
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Major types of muscles (Histology)
– skeletal muscle
– smooth muscle
– cardiac muscle
SKELETAL MUSCLE SMOOTH MUSCLE CARDIAC MUSCLE
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Comparison of the 3 major types of muscle
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Comparison of the 3 major types of muscle
Skeletal Smooth
Cardiac
(striated) (visceral)
Voluntary, striated Involuntary, non-striated Involuntary, striated
Structure/
muscles attached to muscle found in the walls muscle found only
Location
bones by tendons of hollow organs in the heart.
Facilitates body Regulates the flow of
Pumps blood
movement, posture, substances through
Functions throughout the
and heat production. hollow organs by
body.
contracting and relaxing.
Contraction Rapid Slow Rapid
Muscles in the
Contains
Biceps brachii, gastrointestinal tract,
intercalated discs
Examples quadriceps, and those lining the inner wall
for synchronized
deltoids. of blood vessels, and
contractions
uterus
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Smooth Muscle
smooth (or visceral) muscle-
– forms the muscle layers in the walls of the digestive
tract, bladder, various ducts, arteries and veins, and
other internal organs.
– smooth-muscle cells are elongated and thin, have
only one nucleus, and form sheets rather than
bundles of muscles.
– smooth muscle is controlled by the
autonomic nervous system (ANS).
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Smooth Muscle
found in the walls of the hollow internal organs (blood
vessels, the gastrointestinal tract, bladder, and uterus)
under control of the autonomic nervous system - cannot
be controlled consciously and thus acts involuntarily.
one central nucleus.
contracts slowly and rhythmically.
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Smooth Muscle
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Smooth Muscle
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Cardiac Muscle
cardiac (or heart) muscle, a cross between the smooth
and striated muscles, makes up the heart tissue.
Like smooth muscle, it is controlled by the
autonomic nervous system (ANS).
found in the walls of the heart, helps in the pumping
action
under control of the autonomic nervous system.
The intercalated discs have two crucial functions:
‘glue’ the myocytes together so that they do not pull
apart when the heart contracts
allow an electrical connection between the cells, which
is vital to the function of the heart as a whole.
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Cardiac Muscle
A cardiac muscle cell has one central nucleus
Contains more mitochondria than skeletal muscle cells
Contraction of cardiac muscle is involuntary, strong, and
rhythmical.
A prominent and unique feature of cardiac muscle is the
presence of irregularly spaced dark bands between
myocytes - intercalated discs
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How the Heart is Different
How is the heart different from
other muscles?
– It is part of both the Muscular
System and the Circulatory
System.
– It is responsible for circulating
blood throughout
the body.
– It has its own pacemaker for
rhythmic beating.
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Skeletal Muscle
skeletal (or voluntary/striated) muscle is the most
abundant tissue in the human body, and it moves.
Each skeletal-muscle fiber is roughly cylindrical,
contains many nuclei, and is crossed by alternating
light and dark bands called striations.
Fibers bind together, via connective tissue, into
bundles, and these bundles, in turn, bind together to
form muscles.
Thus, skeletal muscles are composite structures
composed of many muscle fibers, nerves, blood
vessels, and connective tissue.
Skeletal muscles are controlled by the
23 somatic nervous system (SNS).
Skeletal Muscle
most skeletal muscles are
attached to bones
responsible for skeletal
movements
CNS controls the skeletal
muscles - these muscles
are under conscious, or
voluntary, control.
The basic unit is the
muscle fiber with many
nuclei.
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Skeletal Muscle
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Names of Skeletal Muscles
Skeletal muscles are named based on many different factors
Location: muscles derive their names from their anatomical
region.
– The rectus abdominis and transverse abdominis are
found in the abdominal region
Origin and insertion: named based upon their connection
to a stationary bone (origin) and a moving bone (insertion)
– occipito-frontalis (connecting the occipital bone to the
frontal bone).
Number of origin: Some muscles connect to more than one
bone or to more than one place on a bone. A muscle with
two origins is called a biceps. A muscle with three origins is
the triceps muscle. Finally, a muscle with four origins is
known as the quadriceps muscle.
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Names of Skeletal Muscles
Shape, size & direction
– The muscles whose fibers run straight up and down are
the rectus abdominis, the ones running transversely
(left to right) are the transverse abdominis, and the
ones running at an angle are the obliques.
Function
– In the leg, there are muscles called adductors whose
role is to adduct (pull together) the legs.
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Muscles of the Scalp and Face
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M u s c le s o fth e S c a lp a n d F a c e
Epicranius consists of:
– frontalis (or frontal belly of epicranius)
– occipitalis (or occipital belly of epicranius)
These two muscles pull the scalp forward and
backward
Various muscles are involved in opening and closing
the eyes and mouth, and smiling
E.g., orbicularis oculi, orbicularis oris, zygomaticus, etc.
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Muscles of the Scalp and Face
There are multiple muscles involved in mastication
(chewing)
– Prime movers
temporalis
masseter
– Synergists
buccinator
orbicularis oris
Muscles of the Anterior Neck
Suprahyoid muscles –
Digastric (Ant and Post
Belly)
and Stylohyoid.
Infrahyoid muscles –
Omohyoid,
Sternohyoid,
Sternothyroid,
and Thyrohyoid.
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How do muscles work to move joints?
Muscle pairs:
Muscles are grouped in pairs on your skeleton
Relaxed or contracted:
When one muscle of a pair contracts, the other
relaxes
Pulling muscles:
Skeletal muscles only pull in one direction. For this
reason, they always come in pairs. When one muscle
in a pair contracts, to bend a joint, for example, its
partner then contracts and pulls in the opposite
direction to straighten the joint out again.
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How do muscles work to move joints?
Flexor Vs Abductor
– Flexor contracts
– Abductor extends
Special type of movements
Flexion vs extension
Abduction vs adduction
Medial (internal ) vs Lateral (external) rotation
Dorsiflexion and Plantarflexion
Supination and Pronation
Inversion and Eversion
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(a) Flexion vs (b) Extension
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Maintaining Healthy Muscle Tissues
All of our muscles use energy when
they contract. Hence, they strongly
require a balanced and healthy diet.
This energy comes from the food
that we consume.
Eating a diet rich in nutrients such as
protein, fiber, and potassium can
help keep our muscles strong.
Regular exercise and managing
stress also helps keep to keep our
muscles healthy.
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Human Muscles and Homeostasis
Feedback loop mechanism
– Cold weather
– Reflex
Muscles help us respond to changes in
the surrounding environment by
enabling us to move.
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