11.

2 Movement AHL Animal Physiology

11.2 Movement

Essential idea: The roles of the musculoskeletal system are movement, support and
protection.

Nature of science:
Developments in scientific research follow improvements in apparatus—fluorescent calcium
ions have been used to study the cyclic interactions in muscle contraction. (1.8)

Understandings:
• Bones and exoskeletons provide anchorage for muscles and act as levers.
• Synovial joints allow certain movements but not others.
• Movement of the body requires muscles to work in antagonistic pairs.
• Skeletal muscle fibres are multinucleate and contain specialized endoplasmic reticulum.
• Muscle fibres contain many myofibrils.
• Each myofibril is made up of contractile sarcomeres.
• The contraction of the skeletal muscle is achieved by the sliding of actin and myosin
filaments.
• ATP hydrolysis and cross bridge formation are necessary for the filaments to slide.
• Calcium ions and the proteins tropomyosin and troponin control muscle
contractions.
Applications and skills:
• Application: Antagonistic pairs of muscles in an insect leg.
• Skill: Annotation of a diagram of the human elbow.
• Skill: Drawing labelled diagrams of the structure of a sarcomere.
• Skill: Analysis of electron micrographs to find the state of contraction of muscle fibres.

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11.2 Movement AHL Animal Physiology
Bones and exoskeletons provide anchorage for muscles and act as levers.

Body of a living organism is a complex network of different organs having several functions
of their own besides being connected to each other for a harmonious, balanced and functional
body be it a honey bee or a human being. All are complex marvels of nature as every species
has a special feature of its own. Some has only endoskeleton some only exoskeleton and
some has both for support. Mainly a living thing has a network of an exoskeleton and or an
endoskeleton. The external skeleton which protects and also supports an animal’s body is
called exoskeleton. Endoskeleton on the other hand is referred to as the internal networks of
skeletal systems which gives support and protection to both the inner softer and fragile organs
like heart, lungs, and kidneys and also give grounds on which exoskeleton can play its role if
the particular specie has the second feature as well.

Mineralized tissue which gives support to the internal structure of an animal is called as
Endoskeleton and develops in deeper body tissues and organs. During the embryonic life its
development is derived from mesodermal tissue and formed by notochord and cartilage.
Which later during the rest of intrauterine life or fetal life goes through stages of intra-
membranous ossification and extra-membranous ossification which finally leads to a network
of bones, cartilage and secondary cartilage all these combine to form an endoskeleton. There
are different forms and types of endoskeletons which differ in development and complexity.
Some examples are Chordates, Coleoidea, Porifera and Echinodermatas. Functions of
endoskeleton include support, protection and ability to move and have a rigid profile because
they serve as attachment sites for muscles and so transmit muscular forces helping in
locomotion.

Both above have some similar functions like support, movement, protection and some
different features like exoskeleton helps in excretion but endoskeleton does not. In the same
way endoskeleton has bone marrow in shaft of long bones which helps in making blood cells
by the process of endothelial proliferation for the body this feature is not present in
exoskeleton. Exoskeleton mostly contains the non living portions of the body for example
scales on fish, hair on most animals, horns, feathers on birds but the inside of these feather to
which muscle is attached ,the hard part is the endoskeleton and is the living portion of body
which responds to stimuli from brain.

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11.2 Movement AHL Animal Physiology

Endoskeleton Exoskeleton

Lever systems

When a muscle shortens the central

body portion, called the belly,
contracts. The type and extent of
movement are determined by the load
or resistance that is moved, the
attachment of tendinous extremities of
the muscle to the bone (origin and
insertion) and the particular type of
joint involved. In almost every instance, muscles that move a part do not lie over that part.
Thus, muscles that move
the lower part of the arm
lie proximal to it, that is
in upper part of the arm.

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11.2 Movement AHL Animal Physiology
The legs of insects

The first thing to notice is how much bigger the

back leg is than the middle or front when fully
extended the back leg measures about 40 mm in
length, which is about twice as long as the others.
Long legs are an advantage for jumping, because
they increase the distance over which the jumper
can push on the ground. The thick part at the top of
the leg (femur) contains the muscles which make
the thinner lower part (tibia) move. The foot at the
end of the leg has sharp claws, which give the
grasshopper a good grip so that its foot doesn't skid when it pushes on the ground as it jumps.

The Lever System in insects

Because grasshoppers are insects, and insects have their skeletons on the outside of the
bodies (an exoskeleton), all the muscles are inside the hard shell. The two main muscles are
the extensor tibiae muscle which causes the leg to extend, and the flexor tibiae muscle which
causes the leg to flex. These muscles pull on tendons which are attached to the tibia on either
side of the joint pivot. These tendons can be seen by removing the cuticle from one side of
the leg in the joint region

A red line has been drawn through the tendon of

the extensor muscle, while a blue line has been
drawn through the tendon of the flexor muscle.

Note how the flexor tendon does not have a direct

line of pull, but rather loops over a structure in
the femur called the "lump".

When one of the muscle contracts, it pulls on its

tendon and moves the tibia one way, when the other muscle contracts, it moves the tibia the
other way.

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11.2 Movement AHL Animal Physiology
Both the extensor and flexor muscles are working through a long lever - the tibia. This means
that the force produced by the extensor muscle is much greater than the force with which the
foot at the end of the tibia actually pushes on the ground.

Muscle Force

The extensor muscle is very strong. One reason for its strength is simply its size. In the
photograph below, the cuticle on one side of the leg has been removed to show the muscles
underneath. The extensor muscle (red outline) occupies most of the volume of the femur,
while the flexor muscle (blue outline) is just a thin sheet of muscle lying along the bottom of
the femur.

Amazing fact. The extensor muscle from the back leg of an adult female locust (Schistocerca
gregaria) can develop a force of up to 1.4 kg. This means that the muscle from one back leg
of a grasshopper (admitedly quite a large one) can lift almost a bag-and-a-half of supermarket
sugar!

https://www.st-
andrews.ac.uk/~wjh/jumping/muscprob.htm

Synovial joints
Skill: Annotation of a diagram of the human elbow.

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11.2 Movement AHL Animal Physiology
Synovial joints are most evolved and therefore most mobile type of joints. They possess the
following characteristic features;

 There articular surfaces are covered with hyaline cartilage. This articular cartilage is
avascular, non-nervous and elastic. Lubricated with synovial fluid, the cartilage forms
slippery surfaces for free movements.

 Between the articular surfaces there is a joint cavity filled with synovial fluid. The
cavity may be partially or completely subdivided by an articular disc known as
meniscus.

 The joint is surrounded by an articular capsule which is fibrous in nature and is lined
by synovial membrane. Because of its rich nerve supply the fibrous capsule is
sensitive to stretches imposed by movements.

 The synovial membrane lines the entire joint except the articular surfaces covered by
hyaline cartilage. It is this membrane that secretes the slimy fluid called synovial fluid
which lubricates the joint and nourishes the articular cartilage.

 Varying degrees of movements are always permitted by the synovial joints.

You may write the annotation in the space below

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11.2 Movement AHL Animal Physiology

State the function of the following structures in the

human elbow.

(i)Synovial fluid

(ii)Biceps

Synovial fluid: avoids friction/lubricates / absorbs shock

(at the elbow joint)

 biceps: flexes arm/raises lower arm

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11.2 Movement AHL Animal Physiology

Different joints allow different range of movement

The structure of a joint, including the joint capsule and the ligaments, determines the
movements that are possible. The knee joint can act as a hinge joint, which allows only two
movements: flexion (bending) and extension (straightening). It can also act as a pivot joint
when flexed. The knee has a greater range of movement when it is flexed than when it is
extended. The hip joint, between the pelvis and the femur, is a ball and socket joint. It has a
greater range of movement than the knee joint in that it can flex and extend, rotate, and move
sideways and back. This latter type of movement is called abduction and adduction.

Source:Oxford IB Book

Muscle: A Specialized Contractile Machine

Muscle cells have evolved to carry out one highly specialized function — contraction.
Muscle contractions must occur quickly and repetitively, and they must occur through long
distances and with enough force to move large loads. In muscle, actin and myosin associate

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11.2 Movement AHL Animal Physiology
into a complex, called actomyosin, which is organized into a highly ordered structure having
the ability to do work very efficiently.

Like any mechanical engine, muscles can be characterized by their power output, the rate at
which they can work. Muscle power depends on several parameters: velocity of contraction,
ability to contract repetitively, and force of contraction. Some Muscles Contract, Others
Generate Tension

Vertebrates and many invertebrates have two classes of muscle — skeletal and smooth — 
which differ in function. (A third class of muscle found in vertebrates, cardiac [heart] muscle,
is not discussed here.) Skeletal muscles connect the bones in the arms, legs, and spine and are
used in complex coordinated activities, such as walking or positioning of the head; they
generate rapid movements by contracting quickly. In this type of contraction, termed isotonic
contraction, the muscle shortens as force is generated. Another major function of skeletal
muscle is to hold objects immobile. In the clenching of fists or tensing of muscles, for
example, pairs of contracting muscles work to oppose each other and thus cancel out any
movements. In such isometric contraction, the overall length of a muscle remains constant
but its tension increases. Smooth muscles surround internal organs such as the large and
small intestines, the uterus, and large blood vessels. The contraction and relaxation of smooth
muscles controls the diameter of blood vessels and also propels food along the
gastrointestinal tract. Compared with skeletal muscles, smooth muscle cells contract and
relax slowly, and they can create and maintain tension for long periods of time.

Skeletal Muscles Contain a Regular Array of Actin and Myosin

A skeletal muscle comprises a bundle of muscle

cells, or myofibers. A typical muscle cell is
cylindrical, large (1 – 40 mm in length and
10 – 50 μm in width), and multinucleated
(containing as many as 100 nuclei). A myofiber
is packed with myofibrils, bundles of filaments
that extend the length of the cell. Myofibrils are
further subdivided into alternating light and
dark bands, which are aligned along the length
of the muscle cell, giving the myofiber a striated appearance in the light microscope.
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11.2 Movement AHL Animal Physiology

Closer examination reveals that the dark bands, called A bands, are bisected by a dark region,
the H zone, while the light bands,
called I bands, are bisected by a
different dark line, the Z disk. (The
latter is also called the Z line because
it appears as a line when seen in
profile in electron micrographs.) The
segment from one Z disk to the next,
consisting of two halves of an I band
and an A band, is termed a
sarcomere.

A chain of sarcomeres, each about 2 μm long in resting muscle, constitutes a myofibril. The
sarcomere is both the structural and the functional unit of skeletal muscle. During
contraction, the sarcomeres are shortened to about 70 percent of their uncontracted, resting
length. Electron microscopy and biochemical analysis have shown that each sarcomere
contains two types of filaments: thick filaments, composed of myosin II, and thin filaments,
containing actin
A skeletal muscle contains bundles of
elongated muscle fibre cells. What is the
longest structure within each fibre?

A. A myosin filament

B. The sarcomere

C. A myofibril

D. The Z line

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11.2 Movement AHL Animal Physiology

Draw a labelled diagram showing the arrangement of proteins in a

sarcomere.
Markscheme

a. actin filaments – drawn as thin lines;

b. myosin filaments (with heads) – drawn as thick lines;

c. regions of overlap between fibres should follow diagram of sarcomere;

d. correct labelling of the A or H band/Z line;

 
Thick and Thin Filaments Slide Past One Another during
Contraction

In vitro motility studies on actin and myosin, combined with microscopy studies in the 1950s
that showed thick and thin filaments did not change in length while the sarcomere shortened,
led to a simple model of skeletal muscle contraction, called the sliding-filament model

The central tenet of this model is that ATP-dependent interactions between thick filaments
(myosin) and thin filaments (actin) generate a force that causes thin filaments to slide past
thick filaments. The force is generated by the myosin heads of thick filaments, which form
cross-bridges to actin thin filaments in the AI zone, where the two filament systems overlap.
Subsequent conformational changes in these cross-bridges cause the myosin heads to walk
along an actin filament, as discussed earlier. The sliding-filament model predicted that the
force of contraction should be proportional to the overlap between the two filament systems.

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 11.2 Movement AHL Animal Physiology

Mechanism of action for muscle contraction

The contraction of skeletal muscle is triggered

by nerve impulses, which stimulate the release
of Ca2+ from the sarcoplasmic reticulum—a
specialized network of internal membranes,
similar to the endoplasmic reticulum, that stores
high concentrations of Ca2+ ions. The release of
Ca2+ from the sarcoplasmic reticulum increases
the concentration of Ca2+ in the cytosol. The
increased Ca2+ concentration signals muscle
contraction via the action of two accessory
proteins bound to the actin filaments:
tropomyosin and troponin. Tropomyosin is a
fibrous protein that binds lengthwise along the
groove of actin filaments. In striated muscle,
each tropomyosin molecule is bound to
troponin, which is a complex of three
polypeptides: troponin C (Ca2+-binding),
troponin I (inhibitory), and troponin T
1.What is(tropomyosin-binding).
the role of ATP during contraction
When theofconcentration
a skeletal muscle
of Ca2+ is low, the complex of the troponins
fibre?
with tropomyosin blocks the interaction of actin and myosin, so the muscle does not contract.
A. To uncover the myosin binding sites on actin filaments
At cross-bridges
B. To make high concentrations, Ca2+andbinding
between actin to troponin C shifts the position of the complex,
myosin filaments
C. To break cross-bridges
relieving and re-setand
this inhibition myosin headscontraction to proceed.
allowing
D. To cover the myosin binding sites on actin filaments

C 3

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11.2 Movement AHL Animal Physiology

1.Which process is part of the mechanism that controls muscle contraction?

A. Troponin enables actin heads to attach to ATP and slide along myosin.
B. Myosin heads attach to troponin and tropomyosin pulls on actin filaments.
C. Tropomyosin attaches to calcium and breaks the bond between actin and myosin.
D. Calcium frees actin filaments for myosin heads to attach.

2.Which ions are released from the sarcoplasmic reticulum when a skeletal muscle fibre
contracts?

A. Sodium
B. Potassium
C. Calcium
D. Chloride

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11.2 Movement AHL Animal Physiology

Award [1] for any two of the following

correctly identified.
I. myosin head/filament;
II. actin filament;
III. dark band/A band;
IV. Z line;

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