• There are more than 600 skeletal muscles in the body which make up 40-50% of body weight

>>> ANATOMY >>>

A. Connective Tissue Components

• Muscle cells are called muscle fibers because they’re thread like
• Each muscle fiber is covered by a delicate connective tissue called ENDOMYSIUM
• A group of muscle fibers is called a FASCICLE
• Each fascicle is covered by a tougher envelope called PERIMYSIUM
• The muscle as a whole is covered by the EPIMYSIUM
• The endomysium, perimysium and epimysium are continuous with the tendon
• Tendon is continuous with the periosteum of the underlying bone
• Tendon may extend as a broad and flat sheet of connective tissue called APONEUROSIS
• Aponeurosis merges with fibrous wrappings of other muscles
• Fascia- fibrous tissue surrounding the muscle (outside the epimysium)
 A. Attachment of Muscles
1. Origin- point of attachment that does not move when the muscle contracts
Origin bone- more stationary of the 2 articulating bones
1. Insertion- point of attachment that moves when the muscle contracts
2. Insertion bone- moves toward the origin bone when the muscle contracts

B. Muscle Actions
• Muscles coordinate with each other to produce movement
• Muscles can be classified according to the actions they contribute in producing a specific movement

3. Prime movers / Agonists- muscle/group of muscles that directly performs a specific

movement
Ex. Biceps brachii- flexes the forearm

4. Antagonists- muscles that directly oppose prime movers

When agonist contracts, antagonist relaxes and vice-versa
Ex. Triceps brachii- extends the forearm

5. Synergists- muscles that facilitate/complement prime mover actions

6. Fixators- generally are “Joint Stabilizers”

- Maintain balance during contraction of agonist

A. Head and Neck

1. Facial
a. Frontalis- raises the eyebrows and wrinkles forehead
b. Orbicularis Oculi- blinks and closes the eye
c. Orbicularis Oris- kissing muscle; closes and protrudes lips
d. Buccinator- compresses cheek (when whistling or swallowing)
e. Zygomaticus- smiling muscle

2. Chewing
a. Masseter- closes jaw
b. Temporalis- closes jaw
c. Buccinator- holds food between teeth

3. Neck
a. Platysma- pulls corner of mouth inferiorly
b. Sternocleidomastoid- flexes and rotates head
 B. Trunk
1. Anterior
a. Pectoralis Major- adducts and flexes arm
Intercostal Muscles:
b. External intercostals- raise ribcage for breathing
c. Internal intercostals- depress ribcage to force air out
Abdominal Girdle Muscles:
d. Rectus abdominis- flexes vertebral column
e. External oblique- flexes and rotates vertebral column
f. Internal oblique- flexes and rotates vertebral column
g. Transversus abdominis- compresses the abdomen

2. Posterior
a. Trapezius- extends neck, adducts scapula
b. Latissimus dorsi- extends and adducts humerus
c. Erector spinae- extends back
d. Deltoid- abducts arm

C. Upper Limb
1. Upper arm
a. Biceps brachii- flexes elbow, supinates forearm
b. Brachialis- flexes elbow
c. Brachioradialis- fairly weak muscle
d. Triceps brachii- extends elbow

D. Lower Limb
1. Muscles that Move Hip and Thigh
a. Gluteus Maximus- extends thigh
b. Gluteus Medius- abducts thigh
c. Gluteus Minimus- abducts thigh
d. Iliopsoas- flexes thigh
e. Adductor muscles- adduct thigh

2. Thigh Muscles
Hamstring Group:
a. Biceps Femoris- flexes leg
b. Semimembranosus- extends thigh
c. Semitendinosus- extends thigh

Quadriceps Group:
d. Rectus femoris- flexes hip on thigh
e. Vastus Medialis- extends knee
f. Vastus Intermedius- extends knee
g. Vastus Lateralis- extends knee
h. Sartorius- flexes and adducts leg

3. Leg Muscles
a. Tibialis Anterior- dorsiflexes and inverts foot
b. Extensor Digitorium Longus- extends toes, dorsiflexes foot
c. Fibularis muscles- plantar flex, evert foot
d. Gastrocnemius- plantar flexes foot, flexes knee
e. Soleus- plantar flexes foot

>>> PHYSIOLOGY >>>

A. Movement- contractions produce movement

B. Heat production- ATP is needed for muscles to contract

- Source of ATP- burning of assimilated food particles (conversion of chemical energy to
mechanical)
- 2nd Law of Thermodynamics: Energy transformation is never 100% efficient, some of the
released energy is lost as heat
- Skeletal system maintains homeostasis by generating heat
- When body temperature falls below the “set point” value (37°C), the hypothalamus will
signal the skeletal muscles to contract
- Shivering contractions produce enough “waste heat” to warm the body back to 37°C
 C. Posture- continued partial contractions of muscles is responsible for maintaining good posture while
other muscles perform other movements
- Gravity pulls on various parts of the body
- To maintain posture, muscle must counteract the pull of gravity
- Tonicity: property of the muscle to continually pull a body part (also called “Muscle Tone”;
“Tension”)
-

1. Excitability / Irritability- ability to be stimulated

2. Contractility- ability to shorten
3. Extensibility- ability to stretch

A. Similarities with Other Cells

• Muscle cell= muscle fiber
• Sarcolemma- plasma membrane of a muscle fiber
• Sarcoplasm- cytoplasm of a muscle fiber
• Sarcoplasmic reticulum (SR)- analogous to the SER of other cells
• Muscle fibers contain many mitochondria and are multinucleated

B. Differences with Other Cells

a. Each fiber is made up of bundles of MYOFIBRILS

- Each myofibril is made up of Thick and Thin MYOFILAMENTS

b. Sarcomere- functional unit of a Myofibril

• Located between 2 Z lines / disk
• Parts of a Sarcomere
o Z line / disk- plate to which the thin filaments are directly connected
 Landmark that separates adjacent sarcomeres
o M line- located at the middle of a sarcomere
 Made from protein molecules that hold and stabilize the thick filaments
o A band- part of the sarcomere where the thick filaments are located
o I band- part of the sarcomere where the thin filaments are located
o H-zone- part of the A band where in the thick filaments do not overlap with the thin
filaments
o Elastin filaments- elastic filaments
 Made up of titin (connectin) proteins
 Connect the ends of thick filaments to the Z line

c. T-tubules (Transverse Tubules)- inward extensions of the sarcolemma

• Allow electrical signals (impulses) to move deeper into the cell
d. Triad- made from 1 T-tubule sandwiched by 2 SR cisternae (stores Ca ions)
 IV. MYOFILAMENTS
 Each muscle fiber is composed of bundles of myofibrils
 Each myofibril is composed of bundles of thick and thin myofilaments
 Myofilaments are made from 4 protein molecules
a. Myosin
b. Actin
c. Tropomyosin
d. Troponin

A. Thin Filament
 Made from actin, tropomyosin and troponin
 Actin molecules form 2 chains that twist around each other
 Actin and Myosin are chemically attracted to one another
 At rest, the tropomyosin blocks the active sites on the actin molecules
 Troponin molecules hold the tropomyosin in blocking position

B. Thick Filament
 Made from a bundle of myosin fibers
 Myosin fibers have club shaped heads that stick out from the bundle
 Myosin heads (also called “cross bridges”) are chemically attracted to the actin molecules

♣ SLIDING FILAMENT THEORY

1. Excitation
 Nerve impulse is needed to stimulate contraction
 Impulse is provided by a MOTOR NEURON
 Muscle fiber has a region called MOTOR END PLATE
 Motor neuron + Motor Endplate = Neuro-muscular junction
a. Nerve impulse at the end of a neuron will trigger synaptic vesicles to release ACETYLCHOLINE
into the synaptic cleft (neurotransmitters)
b. Acetylcholine will bind to receptors at sarcolemma and will initiate an electrical impulse on the
sarcolemma
c. Impulse will reach the T-tubules
d. T-tubules will transmit the impulse to the SR cisternae

2. Contraction
a. SR will release Ca++
b. Ca++ will bind to troponin
c. Troponin will release tropomyosin, exposing active sites on actin
d. Myosin cross bridges will bind with actin
e. ATP will provide energy w/c will make myosin pull actin toward the center of the sarcomere
f. As thin filaments slide past the thick filaments, muscle fiber shortens

3. Relaxation
a. After the impulse is over, SR pumps Ca++ into its cisternae
b. Without Ca++, troponin will hold tropomyosin to blocking position
c. Myosin releases actin and thin and thick filaments return to resting position

♣ TYPES OF MUSCLE FIBERS

1. Slow / Red fibers
 Slow contracting and slow fatiguing muscles
  Contain high amount of myoglobin (red pigment that stores O2)
 Thick filaments made from Type I myosin (reacts at a slow rate)
 Have larger number of mitochondria so fibers are rich in O2
 Well suited to the sustained contractions of postural muscles

2. Fast / White fibers

 Fast contracting and fast fatiguing muscles
 Contain low amount of myoglobin
 Thick filaments made from Type IIx myosin (reacts rapidly)
 Triads more efficient at quickly releasing Ca++ to the sarcoplasm
 Have few mitochondria, fibers rely primarily on anaerobic respiration (produces lactic acid which
causes fatigue)
 Fitted for fast contracting muscles without sustained contractions (muscles of fingers and eyes)

3. Intermediate fibers
 Possess the characteristics of red and white fibers
 Fitted for postural muscles that are occasionally required to generate rapid contractions (ex. Soleus)