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MUSCULAR SYSTEM
Muscle Types

• Skeletal
• Cardiac
• Smooth

Skeletal Cardiac Smooth

• Body Location-Attached • Body location- walls of • Body Location- in walls
to bones or, some facial the heart of hollow visceral organs
muscles, to skin • Cell shape and (other than the heart
• Cell shape and appearance- Branching • Cell shape and
appearance- Single, very chain cells; uninucleate, appearance- Single,
striations; intercalated fusiform, uninucleate; no
long, cylindrical,
multinucleate cells with discs striations
very obvious striations • Connective Tissue • Connective tissue
• Connective Tissue components- components-
Endomysium attached to endomysium
Components-
endomysium,
the fibrous skeleton of • Regulation of
the heart Contraction- Involuntary;
epimysium, perimysium,
cells • Regulation of nervous system controls;
• Regulation of Contraction- Involuntary; hormones, chemical,
the heart has a stretch
contraction- Voluntary;
via nervous system pacemaker; also nervous • Rhythmic contraction-
controls system controls; Yes, in some
hormones
• Speed of Contraction-
slow to fast • Speed of contraction-
slow
• Rhythmic contraction-No
• Rhythmic contraction-
yes

Muscle Fibers- skeletal and smooth muscle cells that are elongated

Contraction of muscles is due to the movement of microfilaments

SKELETAL MUSCLE

Skeletal Muscle Fibers- packaged into organs called skeletal muscles that attach to the body’s skeleton

➢ As the skeletal muscles cover our bony “underpinning”, they help form the much smooth
contours of the body
➢ Huge, cigar-shaped, multinucleate cells
➢ Most are attached by tendons to bones
➢ Largest of the muscle fiber types
➢ Also known as striated muscle( fibers have obvious stripes) and as Voluntary muscles (the
only muscle type subject to conscious control)
➢ Often activated by reflexes (without our willed-command)
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➢ Skeletal, striated, voluntary

➢ Can contract rapidly with great force, but it tires easily and must rest after short periods of
activity
➢ Soft, fragile
➢ Exert tremendous power

Connective Tissue Wrappings of Skeletal Muscle

➢ Endomysium- delicate connective tissue sheath that encloses muscle fiber

➢ Perimysium- wraps around a fascicle (bundle) of muscle fibers
➢ Epimysium- covers the entire skeletal muscle
➢ Fascia- on the outside of epimysium

Skeletal Muscle attachments

➢ The epimysia blend either into strong, cordlike tendons or into sheetlike aponeuroses, which attach
muscles indirectly to bones, cartilages, or connective tissue coverings
➢ Tendons- providing durability and conserving space
- Tough, collagenic fibers

Sites of Muscle Attachment

➢ Bones
➢ Cartilage
➢ Connective tissue coverings

SMOOTH MUSCLE CHARACTERISTICS

➢ Has no striations
➢ Involuntary
➢ Visceral, nonstriated, involuntary
➢ Found mainly in the walls of hollow visceral organs such as the stomach, urinary bladder, and
respiratory passages, smooth muscle pro pels substances along a definite tract, or pathway, within
the body
➢ Smooth Muscle cells- Spindle-shaped
- Have a single nucleus
- Surrounded by scant endomysium

CARDIAC MUSCLE

➢ Found only in the heart where it forms the bulk of the heart walls
➢ Striated, involuntary
➢ Cardiac cells- cushioned by small amounts of soft connective tissue (endomysium)
- Arranged in spiral or figure of 8-shaped bundles
- Cardiac muscle fibers are branching cells joined by special junctions called intercalated
discs

MUSCLE FUNCTIONS
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➢ Producing movement is a common function of all muscle types, but skeletal muscle plays three other
important roles in the body as well: it maintains posture, stabilizes joints, and generates heat

MICROSCOPIC ANATOMY OF SKELETAL MUSCLE

➢ Sarcolemma- specialized plasma cells (oval nuclei)

➢ Myofibrils- long, ribbon-like organelles inside the muscle
➢ Sarcoplasmic Reticulum- specialized smooth endoplasmic reticulum
- Stores and releases calcium
- Surrounds the myofibril

Myofibrils are aligned to give distinct bands

➢ I band- light band; contains thin filaments

➢ A Band- Dark band; contains entire length thick filaments
➢ H zone- lighter central area of A band
➢ Z disc- midline interruption of A band; darker area
➢ M line in the center of the H zone contains tiny protein rods that hold adjacent thick filaments
together
➢ Sarcomere- contracting unit of a muscle fiber
ORGANIZATION OF SARCOMERE

MYOFILAMENTS
- Thick Filament- Myosin Filaments
- Thin Filaments- actin filaments

STIMULATION AND CONTRACTION OF SINGLE SKELETAL MUSCLE CELLS

➢ Irritability/responsiveness- ability to receive and respond to stimulus

➢ Contractility- the ability of the skeletal muscle to shorten (forcibly) when adequately stimulated
➢ Extensibility - is the ability of muscle cells to be stretched, whereas elasticity is their ability to recoil
and resume their resting length after being stretched.

THE NERVE STIMULUS AND ACTION POTENTIAL

To contract, skeletal muscle cells must be stimulated by nerve impulses.

• Motor unit—one motor neuron and all the skeletal muscle cells stimulated by that neuron

• Nerve fiber or Axon- long, thread-like extension of the neuron (if it reaches the muscle, it branches
into a number of axon terminals
• Axon Terminals- each of which forms junctions with the sarcolemma of a different muscle cell
• Neuromuscular Junction- Association site of axon terminal of the motor neuron and muscle
• - contain vesicles filled with a chemical referred to as neurotransmitter
• Acetylcholine- neurotransmitter that stimulates skeletal muscle cells
• Synaptic cleft
- Gap between nerve and muscle
-Nerve and muscle do not make contact
- Area between nerve and muscle is filled with interstitial fluid

TRANSMISSION OF NERVE IMPULSE TO MUSCLE

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• Neurotransmitter—chemical released by nerve upon arrival of nerve impulse

• The neurotransmitter for skeletal muscle is acetylcholine (ACh)

• Acetylcholine attaches to receptors on the sarcolemma

• Sarcolemma becomes permeable to sodium (Na+)

• Sodium rushes into the cell generating an action potential

• Once started, muscle contraction cannot be stopped

THE SLIDING FILAMENT THEORY OF MUSCLE CONTRACTION

What causes the filaments to slide?

➢ When muscle fibers are activated by the nervous system as just described, the myosin heads at tach
to binding sites on the thin filaments, and the sliding begins.
➢ Myosin heads then bind to the next site of the thin filament and pull them toward the center of the
sarcomere
➢ This continued action causes a sliding of the myosin along the actin
➢ The result is that the muscle is shortened (contracted)

CONTRACTION OF SKELETAL MUSCLE AS A WHOLE

➢ All or None Law (applies to the muscle but not the whole muscle
- a muscle cell will contract to its fullest extent when it is stimulated adequately; it never
partially contracts
➢ However, the whole muscle reacts to stimuli with graded responses
➢ Graded Responses- different levels of skeletal muscle shortening

GRADED RESPONSES CAN BE PRODUCED BY CHANGING

➢ The frequency of muscle stimulation
➢ The number of muscle cells being stimulated at one time

MUSCLE RESPONSE TO INCREASINGLY RAPID STIMULATION

TYPES OF GRADED RESPONSES

➢ Twitch
- Single, brief contractions
- Not a normal contraction

The muscle is said to be in fused, or complete, tetanus, or tetanic contraction when the muscle is stimulated
rapidly that no evidence of relaxation is seen and the contractions are completely smooth and sustained.
➢ Tetanus (summing of contractions)
o One contraction is immediately followed by another
o The muscle does not completely
return to a resting state
o The effects are added
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➢ Unfused (incomplete) tetanus

o Some relaxation occurs between contractions
o The results are summed

PROVIDING ENERGY FOR MUSCLE CONTRACTION

Working muscles use three pathways for ATP regeneration;

➢ Direct phosphorylation of ADP by creatine phosphate

- Interactions between CP and ATP results in transfers of a high-energy phosphate group
from CP to ADP, thus regenerating more ATP in a fraction of a second
➢ Aerobic Respiration- occurs in mitochondria and involves a series of metabolic pathways that use
oxygen (oxidative phosphorylation)
- Glucose is broken down completely to carbon dioxide and water, and some of the
energy released as the bonds are broken is captured in the bonds of ATP molecules
- Fairly slow and requires continuous delivery of oxygen and nutrient fuels to keep the
muscle going
➢ Anaerobic glycolysis and lactic acid formation
- Glycolysis- a pathway where initial steps of glucose breakdown occur
▪ Requires no oxygen (anaerobic)
▪ Occurs in cytosol
▪ Glucose is broken down to pyruvic acid, and small amounts of energy
are captured in ATP bonds
▪ As longs as enough oxygen is present, the pyruvic acid then enters the
oxygen-requiring aerobic pathways that occur within the
mitochondrial to produce more ATP
▪ When muscle activity is intense, or oxygen and glucose delivery is
temporarily inadequate to meet the needs of working muscles, the
sluggish aerobic pathways cannot keep up with the demands for ATP
▪ Under these conditions, the pyruvic acid generated during glycolysis is
converted to lactic acid, and the overall process is called anaerobic
glycolysis

MUSCLE FATIGUE AND OXYGEN DEFICIT

➢ When a muscle is fatigued, it is unable to contract even with a stimulus

➢ Common cause for muscle fatigue is oxygen debt

- Oxygen must be “repaid” to tissue to remove oxygen deficit

- Oxygen is required to get rid of accumulated lactic acid

➢ Increasing acidity (from lactic acid) and lack of ATP causes the muscle to contract less

➢ Oxygen Deficit- not a total lack of oxygen; 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
➢ When muscles lack oxygen, lactic acid begins to accumulate in the muscle via the anaerobic path way
described previously
- The muscle’s ATP supply starts to run low, and ionic imbalance tends to occur. Together
these factors cause the muscle to contract less and less effectively and finally to stop
contracting altogether.
➢ True muscle fatigue- the muscle quits entirely
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TYPES OF MUSCLE CONTRACTIONS—ISOTONIC AND ISOMETRIC

➢ Isotonic contractions

• Myofilaments are able to slide past each other during contractions

• The muscle shortens and movement occurs

➢ Isometric contractions

• Tension in the muscles increases

• The muscle is unable to shorten or produce movement

MUSCLE TONE

- Result of different motor units, which are scattered through the muscle, being stimulated by
the nervous system in a systematic way

MUSCLE MOVEMENTS, TYPES AND NAMES

Five Golden Rules of Skeletal Muscle Activity

1. With a few exceptions, all skeletal muscles cross at least one joint.

2. Typically, the bulk of a skeletal muscle lies proximal to the joint crossed.

3. All skeletal muscles have at least two attachments: the origin and the insertion.

4. Skeletal muscles can only pull; they never push.

5. During contraction, a skeletal muscle insertion moves toward the origin

TYPES OF BODY MOVEMENTS

➢ Movement is attained due to a muscle moving an attached bone

➢ Muscles are attached to at least two points

• Origin

• Attachment to a moveable bone

• Insertion

• Attachment to an immovable bone

TYPES OF ORDINARY BODY MOVEMENTS

➢ Flexion- movement, generally in sagittal plane that decreases the angle of the joint and brings two
bones closer together
➢ Extension- opposite of flexion
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- Increases the angle, or the distance between two bones or parts of the body
➢ Rotation- movement of bone around its longitudinal axis
➢ Abduction- moving a limb away from the midline or median plane of the body
➢ Adduction- opposite of abduction, so it is the movement of the limb toward the body midline
➢ Circumduction- combination of flexion, extension, abduction, and adduction.
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SPECIAL MOVEMENTS

➢ Dorsiflexion and plantar flexion- up and down movements of the foot are given special names
- Dorsiflexion- lifting the foot so that its superior surface approaches the shin
- Plantar Flexion
➢ Inversion and eversion- To invert the foot, turn the sole medially. To evert the foot, turn the sole
laterally
➢ Supination and Pronation
- Supination- occurs when the forearm rotates laterally so that the palm faces anteriorly and
the radius and ulna are parallel
- Pronation- when the forearm rotates medially so that it faces posteriorly
➢ Opposition- in the palm of the hand, the saddle joint between metacarpal 1 and carpals allows
opposition of the thumb
- action by which you move your thumb to touch the tips of the other fingers on the same
hand
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INTERACTIONS OF SKELETAL MUSCLES IN THE BODY

➢ Prime mover- has the major responsibility for causing a particular movement
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➢ Antagonist- muscle that oppose or reverse a movement

When a prime mover is active, its antagonist is stretched and relaxed. Antagonists can be prime movers in
their own right. For example, the biceps of the arm (prime mover of elbow flexion) are antagonized by the
triceps (a prime mover of elbow extension).

➢ Synergist- help prime movers by producing the same movement and reducing undesirable
movements

When a muscle crosses two or more joints, its contraction will cause movement in all the joints crossed unless
synergists are there to stabilize them. For example, the flexor muscles of the fingers cross both the wrist and
the finger joints. You can make a fist without bending your wrist because synergist muscles stabilize the wrist
joints and allow the prime mover to act on the finger joints.

➢ Fixators- specialized synergist

- Hold a bone or stabilize the origin of a prime mover so all the tension can be used to move
the insertion bone
- E.g postural muscles that stabilize the vertebral column

NAMING SKELETAL MUSCLES

➢ By direction of muscle fibers

o Example: Rectus (straight)
➢ By relative size of the muscle
o Example: Maximus (largest)
➢ By location of the muscle
o Example: Temporalis (temporal bone)
➢ By number of origins
o Example: Triceps (three heads)
➢ By location of the muscle’s origin and insertion
o Example: Sterno (on the sternum)
➢ By shape of the muscle
o Example: Deltoid (triangular)
➢ By action of the muscle
o Example: Flexor and extensor (flexes or extends a bone)

ARRANGEMENT OF FASCICLES

➢ Circular- when fascicles arranged in concentric rings

- Typically found surrounding the external body openings which they close by contracting
- “sphincters”- general term for such muscles
➢ Convergent- fascicles converged towards an insertion tendon
➢ Parallel- the length of fascicles run parallel to the long axis of the muscle
- Strap-like modification of the parallel arrangement called “fusiform”
➢ Pennate- short fascicles attach obliquely to a central tendon
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HEAD MUSCLES

FACIAL MUSCLES

➢ Frontalis- covers the frontal bone

- Runs from the cranial aponeurosis to the skin of the eyebrows where it inserts
- This muscle allows you to raise your brows and to wrinkle your forehead
➢ Occipitalis- located at the posterior end of cranial aponeurosis which covers the posterior aspect of
the skull and pulls the scalp posteriorly
➢ Orbicularis Oculi -has fibers that run in circles around the eyes.
- allows you to close your eyes, squint, blink, and wink.
➢ Orbicularis Oris -the circular muscle of the lips
- Because it closes the mouth and protrudes the lips, it is often called the “kissing” muscle.
➢ Buccinator - runs horizontally across the cheek and inserts into the orbicularis oris.
- It flattens the cheek
- also listed as a chewing muscle because it compresses the cheek to hold the food between
the teeth during chewing.
➢ Zygomaticus- extends from the corner of the mouth to the cheekbone.
- referred to as the “smiling” muscle because it raises the corners of the mouth upward.
➢ Chewing Muscles The buccinator muscle, which is a member of this group, is described with the facial
muscles
➢ Masseter -covers the angle of the lower jaw. T
- this muscle closes the jaw by elevating the mandible.
➢ Temporalis - fan-shaped muscle overlying the temporal bone.
- It inserts into the mandible and acts as a synergist of the masseter in closing the jaw
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NECK MUSCLES

- Moves the head and shoulder girdles

- Small and strap-like
➢ Platysma- originates from the connective tissue covering of the chest muscles and inserts into the
area around the mouth
- Its action is to pull the corners of the mouth inferiorly, producing a downward sag of the
mouth
➢ Sternocleidomastoid- two headed muscles
- One found on each side of the neck
- One arises from tht sternum and the other arises from the clavicle

TRUNK MUSCLES

ANTERIOR MUSCLES

➢ Pectoralis Major
- large fan-shaped muscle covering the up per part of the chest. Its origin is from the sternum,
shoulder girdle, and the first six ribs.
- inserts on the proximal end of the humerus.
- forms the anterior wall of the axilla and acts to ad duct and flex the arm.
➢ Intercostal Muscles -deep muscles found between the ribs.
-The external intercostals are important in breathing because they help to raise the rib cage when
you inhale.
-The internal intercostals, which lie deep to the external intercostals, depress the rib cage,
helping to move air out of the lungs when you exhale forcibly
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Muscles of the Abdominal Girdle

- Reinforces the body trunk

- the abdominal muscles form a muscular wall that is well suited for its job of containing and
protecting the abdominal contents
➢ Rectus abdominis- paired straplike rectus abdominis muscles are the most superficial muscles of the
abdomen
- run from the pubis to the rib cage, enclosed in an aponeurosis.
- main function is to flex the vertebral column.
- compress the abdominal contents during defecation and childbirth and are involved in
forced breathing.
➢ External oblique. The external oblique muscles are paired superficial muscles that make up the lateral
walls of the abdomen.
- fibers run downward and medially from the last eight ribs and insert into the ilium.
- -hey flex the vertebral column, but they also rotate the trunk and bend it laterally
➢ Internal oblique- paired muscles deep to the external obliques.
- Their fibers run at right angles to those of the external obliques.
- arise from the iliac crest and insert into the last three ribs.
➢ Transversus abdominis- deepest muscle of the abdominal wall and has fibers that run horizontally
across the abdomen.
- It arises from the lower ribs and iliac crest and inserts into the pubis.
- compresses the abdominal contents.

POSTERIOR MUSCLES

➢ Trapezius- are the most superficial muscles of the posterior neck and upper trunk.
- Each muscle runs from the occipital bone of the skull down the vertebral column to the end
of the thoracic vertebrae
- flare laterally to insert on the scapular spine and clavicle.
- extend the head
- They also can elevate, depress, adduct, and stabilize the scapula.
➢ Latissimus Dorsi -the two large, flat muscles that cover the lower back.
- originate on the lower spine and ilium and then sweep superiorly to insert into the proximal
end of the humerus.
- Each latissimus dorsi extends and adducts the humerus.
- important muscles when the arm must be brought down in a power stroke, as when
swimming or striking a blow.
➢ Erector Spinae -prime mover of back extension.
- are deep muscles of the back.
- Each erector spinae is composite muscle consisting of three muscle columns (longissimus,
iliocostalis, and spinalis) that collectively span the entire length of the vertebral column
- Provides resistance that helps control the action of bending over at the waist
➢ Quadratus Lumborum - each muscle of the pair flexes the spine laterally.
- Acting together, they extend the lumbar spine.
- arise from the iliac crests and insert into the upper lumbar vertebrae
➢ Deltoid The deltoids are fleshy, triangle-shaped muscles that form the rounded shape of your
shoulders
- favorite injection site (when relatively small amounts of medication (less than 5 ml) must be
given intramuscularly (into muscle).
- The origin of each deltoid winds across the shoulder girdle from the spine of the
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MUSCLES OF THE UPPER LIMBS

- The upper limb muscles fall into three groups.

1. muscles that arise from the shoulder girdle and cross the shoulder joint to insert into the
humerus (pectoralis major, latissimus dorsi, and deltoid)
2. causes movement at the elbow joint. These muscles enclose the humerus and insert on
the forearm bones.
3. Muscles of the forearm

MUSCLES OF THE HUMERUS THAT ACT ON THE FOREARM

➢ Biceps Brachii The biceps brachii - bulges when the elbow is flexed
- It originates by two heads from the shoulder girdle and inserts into the radial tuberosity.
- powerful prime mover for flexion of the forearm and acts to supinate the forearm. The best
way to remember its action is to think of opening a bottle of wine.
➢ Brachialis The brachialis lies deep to the biceps muscle and is as important as the biceps in elbow
flexion. The brachialis lifts the ulna as the biceps lifts the radius. Brachioradialis The brachioradialis is
a fairly weak muscle that arises on the humerus and inserts into the distal forearm.
- resides mainly in the forearm.
➢ Triceps Brachii - only muscle fleshing out the posterior humerus
- Its three heads arise from the shoulder girdle and proximal humerus,
- inserts into the olecranon process of the ulna.
- powerful prime mover of elbow extension
- it is the antagonist of the biceps brachii.
- “boxer’s” muscle because it can deliver a straight-arm knockout punch

MUSCLES OF THE LOWER LIMB

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• Muscles causing movement at ankle and foot

• Tibialis anterior

• Extensor digitorum longus

• Fibularis muscles

• Soleus

DISEASES AND DISORDERS OF THE MUSCULAR

• Atrophy

• Cramps

• Fibromyalgia

• Hernias

• Muscle strains

• Muscular dystrophy

• Sprains

• Myalgia

• Tendinitis

NEUROLOGICAL DISORDERS AFFECTING MUSCLES

• Botulism

• Myasthenia Gravis

• Poliomyelitis

• Spasms

• Tetanus

EFFECTS OF AGING ON THE MUSCULAR SYSTEM

• Lean muscles mass decreases with age

• The effects of decrease muscle mass include the following:

- Strength is decreased,

- easy fatigability,

- stability is reduced,

- movements slow and becomes more limited, and

- the gait shortens.

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- Exercise is the best