Muscular System
• Body movement
 Muscles comes from the Latin word mus,
which means “little mouse”
 Essential function – contraction or
shortening , as a result muscles are
responsible for all body movement
 Prefix “myo” or “mys” – muscle
Ex. Muscle cells responsible for shortening or
contracting are the myofilaments
 Sarco – flesh (referring to muscles)
Ex. Muscle cells the cytoplasm is called
sarcoplasm
Types of Muscle:
a. Skeletal Muscles
- Attached to the bone, or for some facial
muscles, to skin
- Also called striated muscles
- Voluntary muscle
- Each muscle fiber is enclosed by the
connective tissue , endomysium
- The epimysia blend into the strong,
cordlike tendons or into a sheet-like
aponeuroses, which attach muscles
indirectly to the bone, cartilage or
connective tissue covering
Endomysium – around single muscle fiber
Perimysium – around a fascicle (bundle) of
fiber
Epimysium – covers the entire skeletal muscle
Fascia – on the outside of epimysium
b. Cardiac Muscle
- Heart
- Striated and involuntary
c. Smooth Muscle
- Visceral
- Nonstriated
- Involuntary
Functions:
• Maintenance of posture
• Respiration
• Production of body heat
• Communication
• Constriction of organs and vessels
• Heart beat
 For respiration, the muscles of the thorax
are responsible for the movement
necessary for respiration
 When skeletal muscles contract, heat is
released which is important in the
maintenance body temperature.
- Energy is released to make muscles
move and this action produces heat.
- During vigorous exercise, skeletal
muscles produce 30-40x as much heat
as the rest of the body.
 In all aspects of communication such as
speaking, writing, typing, gesturing and
facial expressions, the skeletal muscles
are involved.
 Constriction of organs and vessels
 Example in the gastrointestinal tract so
that food will be propelled, and to mix
food and water, muscles move like a wave
or contracts and constricts (peristaltic
movements)
 The contraction of the heart muscles
(cardiac muscles) causes the heart to beat
and push blood to all parts of the body
Body Movement
 Contractions of skeletal muscles is
responsible for the overall movements of
the body such as walking, running, or
manipulating things with our hands, etc.
Maintenance of Posture
 Skeletal muscles keep us sitting or
standing erect because skeletal muscles
constantly maintain tone.
4 major functional characteristics:
1) Contractility is the ability of the skeletal
muscle to shorten with force.
2) Excitability is the capacity of the skeletal
muscle to respond to stimulus, which is
also a result of stimulation by nerves.
3) Extensibility means that skeletal muscles
can be stretched.
4) Elasticity is the ability of the skeletal
muscles to recoil after they have been
stretch.
 Skeletal muscle fibers do not contract
unless they are stimulated by motor
neurons.
 Motor neurons are nerve cells along
which action potentials travel to skeletal
muscle fibers.
 Axons of these neurons enter muscles and
send out branches to several muscle
fibers.
 Each branch forms a junction with a
muscle fiber, called neuromuscular
junction or synapse.
 Neuromuscular junction is located near
the center of a muscle fiber.
 A single motor neuron and all the skeletal
muscle fibers it innervates constitute a
motor unit.
Summary on how muscle contraction occurs:
- Muscle cells stimulated by motor
neurons
- Release acetylcholine
- Sarcolemma changes
- Sodium ions enter muscle cell
- Release of calcium ions
- Calcium binds to regulatory proteins
on thin filaments
- Exposes myosin binding sites
- Myosin head attach to thick filaments
- Myosin head pivots sliding the thin
filaments with the ATP that provides
the energy
- Contraction occurs
Types of Muscle Contractions
a. In isometric (equal distance)
contractions, the amount of tension
increases during the contraction
process, but the length of the muscle
does not change.
b. In isotonic (equal tensions)
contractions, the amount of tension
produced by the muscle is constant
during contraction, but the length of
the muscles decreases.
Isometric – Constant length of the
postural muscles of the body such as
muscles of the back.
Isotonic – Movements of the arms or
fingers “Most movements are
combination of both’
ISOTONIC
Concentric contractions are isotonic
contractions in which muscle tensions
increases as the muscle shortens.
Eccentric contractions are isotonic
contractions in which tension is
maintained as the muscle lengthens.
Terminology and Conditions of the
muscles
Muscle tone
- Refers to constant tension produced
by the muscles of the body for a long
period of time.
- Responsible for keeping the back and
legs straight, the head held in upright
position, and the abdomen from
bulging, etc.
 Most movements are concentric
 Eccentric contractions are used when a
person lets a heavy weight down slowly
 Considerable force is produced during
eccentric contractions and so muscle
 injuries can occur in repetitive eccentric
contractions.
d. Buccinator
Muscle twitch
- Is the contraction of a muscle fiber in
response to a stimulus or tightening up
Causes: stress, too much caffeine, a
poor diet, exercise, or as a side effect
of some medicines.
Cramps e. Zygomaticus
- Are painful, spastic contractions of
muscle that are usually the result of an
irritation within a muscle.
- commonly affected: leg and thigh
- causes: injury, dehydration, low levels Chewing Muscles
of minerals, low blood supply and
other medical condition like kidney
failure.
Muscle fatigue
- Is a symptom that decreases your
muscles' ability to perform over time
- Associated with a state of exhaustion, Temporalis
often following strenuous activity or
exercise.
 The term trunk is sometimes confusing.
When we are going to divide the body
into three parts, it will consist of the head, Neck Muscles
limbs and the trunk or torso.
Facial Muscles
a. Frontalis
- Frontal bone to the eyebrow
- Raise eyebrows, wrinkle forehead
- With the occipitalis muscle, allows the
scalp to be pulled posteriorly (towards
the back)
b. Orbicularis Oculi
- Has fibers that run in circles around
the eyes.
- Close eyes, squint, blink and wink
c. Orbicularis Oris
- Circular muscle of the lips
- Kissing muscle
- Closes and protrudes the lips
- Across the cheek
- Flattens the cheek (whistling and
blowing)
- Also a chewing muscle
- Helps to hold food in place between
teeth
- Corner of the mouth to the cheek
- Smiling muscle
- Raises the corner of the mouth upward
- Masseter (mā-se’ter)
- Temporalis
- Also the buccinators
- Lower jaw to the mandible
- Closes the jaw by elevating the
mandible
- Fan-shaped muscle overlying the
temporal bone
- Acts as synergist of the masseter in
closing the jaw
a) Platysma
- Covers the anterolateral neck
- From the connective tissue covering
the chest muscle and to the mouth
- Pull the corners of the mouth
inferiorly, producing the downward
sag of the mouth
b) Sternocleidomastoid
- Sides of the neck
- Contract- flexes the neck
- Bowing the head
- Connects the head, so, head can be
rotated toward the opposite side
Trunk Muscles Internal oblique
• Anterior Muscles - Flex vertebral column
- Pectoralis major - Rotate trunk and bend laterally
- Intercostal muscles
• Muscles of the abdominal girdle Transverse Abdominis
- Rectus abdominis - Lower rib to the pubis
- External oblique - Compresses the abdominal contents
- Internal oblique
- Transverse abdominis Posterior Muscles
• Posterior muscles Trapezius
- Trapezius - Posterior neck and upper trunk
- Latissimus dorsi - Extend the head
- Erector spinae - Elevate, depress, adduct and stabilize
- Deltoid the scapula
Latissimus Dorsi
Pectoralis major - Covers the lower back
- Sternum, shoulder girdle and first 6 - Lower spine to the proximal end of the
ribs. humerus
- Covers the anterior wall of the axilla - Extends and adduct the humerus
and acts to adduct (move towards the - Important muscle for power stroke like
midline) and flex the arm in swimming and striking a blow
Erector Spinae
Intercostal muscles - Prime mover of back extension
- Deep muscles found between the ribs (powerful back extensor and helps
- Important in breathing control bending over of the waist
• External ICM– raise rib cage for breathing - With 3 composite muscles than span
air in the entire length of vertebral column
• Internal ICM- depress the rib cage moves - Common source of lower back pain
air out, exhale Deltoid
- Prime movers for arm abduction
Rectus abdominis (move away from the midline)
- From the pubis to the rib cage
- Flex vertebral column Muscles of the humerus that act on the
- Compress abdominal contents during forearm
defecation, childbirth and forced (Anterior arm muscles cause elbow flexion)
breathing
Biceps Brachii
External Oblique - Bulges when the elbow is flexed
- Lateral walls of the abdomen, last 8 - Flexion of the arm
ribs to the ilium - Supinate the forearm
- Flex vertebral column Brachialis
- Rotate trunk and bend laterally - The brachialis lies deep to the biceps
muscle and is as important as the
biceps in the elbow.
Brachioradialis  Keep the upper body from falling
- Weak muscle that arises on the backward when standing
humerus and insert into the distal
forearm Adductor Muscles
Triceps brachii - Medial side of each thigh
- Only muscle fleshing the posterior - From pelvis and insert in the proximal
humerus aspect of the of the femur
- Three heads arise from the shoulder - Flabby
girdle and proximal humerus , and it - Adduct or press thighs together
inserts into the olecranon process of
the ulna Muscles causing movement of the knee joint
- Antagonist of the biceps brachii • Hamstring group
- Boxer’s muscle - Biceps femoris
- Semimembranosus
Muscles of the Lower Limb - Semitendinosus
(Muscles causing movement at hip joint) • Sartorius
• Gluteus maximus • Quadriceps group
• Gluteus medius - Rectus femoris
• Iliopsoas - Vastus muscles
• Adductor muscle • Vastus lateralis • Vastus medialis
Quadriceps Group
Gluteus Maximus - Insert into the tibial tuberosity via
- Superficial muscles of the hip that patellar ligament
forms the flesh of the buttocks - Extends knee (kicking a ball)
- From sacrum and iliac bones and - Flex the hip
inserts in the gluteal tuberosity - Vastus lateralis and rectus femoris –
- Hip extensor that acts to bring the intramuscular injection sites
thigh in straight line with the pelvis
- Muscle for extending hip, when Muscles causing movement at the ankle and
climbing stairs and jumping foot
Gluteus Medius • Tibialis anterior
- From the ilium to the femur, beneath • Extensor digitorum longus
the gluteus maximus • Fibularis muscles
- Hip abductor – Longus
- Steadies the pelvis when walking – Brevis
- Site for intramuscular injection (but, – Tertius
watch for the sciatic nerve)
Iliopsoas Tibialis anterior
• Fused muscle: - Upper tibia and then parallels the
- iliacus anterior crest as it runs to the tarsal
- Psoas major bones, where it inserts by a long tendon
 Runs from the iliac bone and lower - Dorsiflex and invert the foot
vertebrae, deep into the pelvis and inserts
into the lesser trochanter of the femur
 Hip flexion
Extensor digitorum longus
- Lateral tibial condyle and proximal
radius and inserts into the phalanges of
toes 2 to 5
- Toe extension and dorsiflex the foot
Fibularis muscles
- The three muscles are found on the
lateral part of the leg.
- Arise from the fibula and insert into the
metatarsal bones of the foot
- Plantar flexion and evert the foot
 Fibromyalgia or chronic muscle pain
syndrome has a muscle pain as its main
symptom.
 Muscular dystrophy refers to a group of
inherited muscle disorders in which
skeletal muscle, cardiac muscle and
smooth muscle tissue degenerates and
the person experiences progressive
weakness and other symptoms including
heart problems.

Gastronemius
- Two-bellied muscle that forms the
curved calf of the posterior leg
- two heads, one from each side of the
distal femur and inserts into the large
calcaneal or Achilles tendon into the
heel of the foot
- Plantar flexion of the foot
- Also called “toe-dancer’s muscle”
- If its insertion tendon is cut, walking is
very difficult.
- The foot will drag because the heel
cannot be lifted.

Soleus
- Arises from the tibia and fibula
- Strong plantar flexor of the foot

Conditions of Muscle Tissue

 Hypertrophy is an enlargement of a
muscle resulting from an increase in the
number of myofibrils within muscle fibers.

 Atrophy is decrease in muscle size

because of a decrease in myofilaments
within muscle fibers.

 Tendinitis is an inflammation of a tendon

or its attachment point.