MUSCULAR SYSTEM

- Responsible for the many movements

- Orbicullaris oris - muscles that surrounds the
lips
- Hypertrophied - excessing training of
individual results in to increase in bulk of the
muscles.
- Atrophied - it is not being exercised daily or
the muscles are decreased in size
- Movement of body fluids,
- Has a numerous number of mitochondria

SKELETAL MUSCLE FIBER

● The muscular system is made up of the
many and varied muscles of the body. ● A skeletal muscle fiber is a single cell
● These muscles are specialized for that contracts in response to stimulation
movement in both invertebrate and and then relaxes when the stimulation
vertebrate animals. ends.
● Muscular actions also provide muscle ● Each skeletal muscle fiber is a thin,
tone, propel body fluids and food, elongated cylinder with rounded ends,
generate the heartbeat, and distribute and it may extend the full length of the
heat. muscle.
● Just beneath its cell membrane
(sarcolemma), the cytoplasm
(sarcoplasm), of the fiber contains
CONNECTIVE TISSUE COVERINGS OF many small, oval nuclei, and
MUSCLES mitochondria.
● The sarcoplasm also contains many
● Layers of fibrous tissue called fascia threadlike myofibrils that lie parallel to
separate an individual skeletal muscle one another.
from adjacent muscles and hold it in
position.
● The layer of connective tissue that closely
surrounds a skeletal muscle is called
epimysium.
● Other layers of connective tissue, called
perimysium extend inward from the
epimysium and separate the muscle
tissue into small compartments (fasciculi)
● Each muscle fiber within a fasciculus lies
within a layer of connective tissue in the
form of a thin covering called
endomysium.
MYOFIBRILS
● Give off the stripe appearance
● Has actin and myosin
● Myofibrils play a fundamental role in
muscle contraction.
● They contain two kinds of protein
filaments – thick ones composed of the
protein myosin and thin ones mainly
composed of the protein actin.
● The organization of these filaments
produces the characteristic alternating
light and dark striations, or bands, of a
skeletal muscle fiber.
THE STRIATION PATTERN OF SKELETAL
MUSCLE FIBER
● Sarcomere -the functional unit of a myofibril
● Isotropic and anisotropic
● M line - makes the myosin molecules stay in
place during contraction
● The striation pattern of the skeletal
muscle fibers has two main parts:
● The first, I bands (light bands) are
composed of thin actin filaments directly
attached to the structures called Z lines.
● The second part of the striation pattern
consists of the A bands (dark bands),
which are composed of thick myosin
filaments overlapping thin actin filaments.
● The A band consists of a region where
the thick and thin filaments overlap, and
a central region (H zone) consisting only
of thick filaments, plus a thickening
known as the M line.
● The M line consists of proteins that help
hold the thick filaments in place.

ROLE OF MYOSIN AND ACTIN ● The segment of a myofibril that extends

● Contractile proteins from one Z line to the next Z line is called
a sarcomere.
● Responsible for contraction of the muscle
● As they slide past each other there is a
contraction (shortening of the muscle)
● A myosin molecule is composed of two
twisted protein strands with globular
parts called cross-bridges projecting
outward along their lengths.
● An actin molecule is a globular structure
with a binding site to which the myosin
cross-bridges can attach. Many actin
molecules twist into a double strand
(helix), forming an actin filament. The
proteins troponin and tropomyosin are
also part of the actin filament.
ADDITIONAL MATERIALS OF THE ● Together, a motor neuron and the muscle
SARCOPLASM fibers that it controls constitute a motor
unit.
● Calcium ion depot - sarcoplasmic reticulum
● Transverse tubules - passageway of muscle
impulse from the sarcolemma towards the
sarcoplasmic reticulum
● Within the sarcoplasm of a muscle fiber
is a network of membranous channels
that surrounds each myofibril and runs
parallel tio it.
● These membranes form the
sarcoplasmic reticulum, which
corresponds to the endoplasmic
reticulum of other cells.
● Another set of membranous channels,
called transverse tubules (T tubules),
extends inward as invaginations from the
fiber’s membrane and passes all the way
through the fiber.

NEUROMUSCULAR JUNCTION
● Each skeletal muscle fiber connects to Recall of the Anatomy of
an axon from a nerve cell, called a motor Striated Muscle
neuron.
● The connection between the motor
neuron and the muscle fiber is called a
neuromuscular junction or synapse.
● Here, the muscle fiber membrane is
specialized to form a motor end plate. In
this region of the muscle fiber, nuclei and
mitochondria are abundant, and the
sarcolemma is extensively folded.

STIMULUS FOR CONTRACTION

MOTOR UNITS
● A muscle fiber usually has a single motor
end plate. The axons of motor neurons,
however, are densely branched.
● By means of these branches, one motor
neuron may connect to many muscle
fibers.
● When a motor neuron transmits an
impulse, all of the muscle fibers it links to
are stimulated to contract simultaneously.
● A skeletal muscle fiber normally does not
contract until a neurotransmitter
stimulates it.
● The neurotransmitter in this case is
acetylcholine.
● This neurotransmitter is synthesized in
the cytoplasm of the motor neuron and
stored in vesicles at the distal end of a
motor neuron axons.
● When a nerve impulse reaches the end
of a motor neuron axon, some of the
vesicles release their acetylcholine into
the neuromuscular junction (synaptic
cleft).
● Acetylcholine diffuses rapidly across the
synaptic cleft and binds to certain
protein molecules (receptors) in the
muscle fiber membrane, stimulating a
muscle impulse, which is very much like
a nerve impulse.
● The impulse passes in all directions over
the surface of the muscle fiber
membrane and travels through the
transverse tubules, deep into the fiber,
until it reaches the sarcoplasmic
reticulum.
● According to the sliding filament model of
RELEASE OF CALCIUM IONS
● The sarcoplasmic reticulum contains a
high concentration of calcium ions.
● In response to a muscle impulse, the
membranes of the cisternae become
more permeable to these ions, and the
calcium ions diffuse into the
sarcoplasm of the muscle fiber.
● When a high concentration of calcium
ions is present in the sarcoplasm,
troponin and tropomyosin interact in a
way that exposes binding sites on actin.
● As a result, linkages form between the
actin and myosin filaments, and the
muscle fibers contracts.
MYOSIN - ACTIN BINDING MECHANISM
● The globular portions of the myosin
filaments contain an enzyme, ATPase,
which catalyzes the breakdown of ATP
to ADP and phosphate releasing
energy that puts the myosin
cross-bridge in a “cocked” position.
● When a “cocked” cross-bridge binds to
actin, it pulls on the thin filament.
● According to the sliding filament model,
this cycle repeats as long as ATP is
available as an energy source and as
long as the muscle fiber is stimulated to
contract.
Sliding Filament Model
muscle contraction, sarcomeres shorten
because cross-bridges pull on the thin
filaments. A myosin cross-bridge can
attach to an actin binding site and bend
slightly, pulling on the actin filament.
Then the head can release, straighten,
combine with another binding site further
down the actin filament, and pull again.

The Control of Muscle Contraction
Energy for Contraction
● Resting muscles or muscles undergoing
long-term exercise, such as during
long-distance running, depend primarily
on aerobic respiration for ATP synthesis.
● Although some glucose are used as an
energy source, fatty acids are a more
important energy source during both
sustained exercise and resting condition.
● ATP molecules supply the energy for
muscle fiber contraction.
● However, a muscle fiber has only enough
ATP to enable it to contract for a very
short time, so when a fiber is active, ATP
must be generated.
● Once ATP reserves begin to decrease,
the energy stored in creatine phosphate
is used to maintain ATP levels in the
contracting muscle fiber.
● Like ATP, creatine phosphate contains
high-energy phosphate bonds, and it is
four to six times more abundant in
muscle fibers than ATP.
● Creatine phosphate , however can not
directly supply energy to a cell’s
energy-utilizing reactions. Instead, it
stores excess energy released from the
mitochondria.
● When ATP supply is sufficient, an
enzyme in the mitochondria (creatine
phosphokinase) catalyzes the synthesis
of creatine phosphate, which stores
excess energy in its phosphate bonds.
● As ATP decomposes, the energy from
creatine phosphate can be transferred to
ADP molecules, converting them back
into ATP.
● Once creatine phosphate stores are
depleted, anaerobic respiration
becomes important.
Oxygen Supply and Cellular
Respiration
● The blood carries the oxygen required to
support aerobic respiration from the
lungs to body cells.
● Red blood cells carry the oxygen, loosely
bound to molecules of hemoglobin, the
 pigment responsible for the red color of
blood.
● Another pigment, myoglobin, is
synthesized in muscle cells and imparts
the reddish-brown color of skeletal
muscle tissue.
● Like hemoglobin, myoglobin can combine
loosely with oxygen.
● When a person is resting or is
moderately active, the respiratory and
cardiovascular systems can usually
supply sufficient oxygen to skeletal
muscles to support aerobic respiration.
● However, this is not the case when
skeletal muscles are used strenuously
for even a minute or two.
● In this situation, muscle fibers must
increasingly use anaerobic respiration
to obtain energy.
Oxygen Debt
● The oxygen debt or excess
postexercise oxygen consumption is
the amount of oxygen needed in
chemical reactions that occur to:
- convert lactic acid to glucose,
- replenish the depleted ATP and
creatine phosphate stores in muscle
fibers, and
- replenish oxygen stores in the
lungs, blood, and muscles.
● After intense exercise, the respiration
rate and volume remain elevated for a
time, even though the muscles are no
longer actively contracting.
● This increased respiration provides
the oxygen to pay back the oxygen
debt.
● The magnitude of the oxygen debt
depends on the intensity of the exercise,
the length of time it was sustained, and
the physical condition of the individual.
Muscle Metabolism
● The metabolic capacity of a muscle may
change with training.
● With high-intensity exercise that depends
more on glycolysis for ATP, a muscle
synthesizes more glycolytic enzymes,
and its capacity for glycolysis increases.
● With aerobic exercise, more capillaries
and mitochondria form, and the muscle’s
capacity for aerobic respiration is
greater.
Fatigue
● A muscle exercised strenuously for a
prolonged period may lose its ability to
contract, a condition called fatigue.
● Psychological fatigue is the most
common type of fatigue. It involves the
central nervous system rather than the
muscles themselves.
● Muscle fatigue results when ATP is
used during muscle contraction faster
than it can be produced in the muscle
fibers and lactic acid builds up faster than
it can be removed.
● Muscle fatigue is most likely to arise
from accumulation of lactic acid in the
muscle as a result of anaerobic
respiration.
● The lactic acid buildup lowers pH, and
as a result, muscle fibers no longer
respond to stimulation.
● Occasionally, a muscle becomes fatigued
and cramps at the same time.
● A cramp is a painful condition in which a
muscle undergoes a sustained
involuntary contraction.
Threshold Stimulus
● When an isolated muscle fiber is
exposed to a series of stimuli of
increasing strength, the fiber remains
unresponsive until a certain strength of
stimulation is applied.
● This minimal strength required to cause a
contraction is called the threshold
stimulus.
● An impulse in a motor neuron normally
releases enough acetylcholine to bring
the muscle fibers in its motor unit to
threshold.
All-or-None Response
● A skeletal muscle fiber exposed to a
stimulus of threshold strength responds
to its fullest extent.
● Increasing the strength of the stimulus
does not affect the fiber’s degree of
contraction.
● In other words, a skeletal muscle fiber
normally does not contract partially; if it
contracts at all, it contracts fully.
● This phenomenon is called the
all-or-none response

Muscle Twitch
● If a muscle fiber is exposed to a single
stimulus of sufficient strength to reach
threshold, the muscle fiber will contract
and then relax.
● This action – a single contraction that
lasts only a fraction of a second – is
called a twitch.
Summation
● A muscle fiber exposed to a series of
stimuli of increasing frequency reaches
a point when it is unable to completely
relax before the next stimulus in the
series arrives.
● When this happens, the force of
individual twitches combines by the
process of summation.
● When the resulting forceful, sustained
contraction lacks even partial relaxation,
it is called a tetanic contraction, or
tetanus.
Recruitment of Motor Units
● At higher intensities of stimulation, other
motor neurons respond, and more motor
units are activated. Such an increase in
the number of motor units being
activated is called recruitment.
● As the intensity of stimulation increases,
recruitment of motor units continues until,
finally, all possible motor units in that
muscle are activated and the muscle
contracts with maximal tension.
Sustained Contractions
● Summation and recruitment together
can produce a sustained contraction
of increasing strength.
● Twitch contractions are of little
importance; rather, sustained
contractions of whole muscles enable us
to perform everyday activities.
● Such contractions are responses to a
rapid series of stimuli transmitted from
the brain and spinal cord on motor
neuron axons.
Muscle tone
● Even when a muscle appears to be at
rest, its fibers undergo some sustained
contraction.
● This is called muscle tone.
● Muscle tone is a response to nerve
impulses that originate repeatedly from
the spinal cord and stimulate a few
muscle fibers.
● Muscle tone is particularly important in
maintaining posture.
● If muscle tone is suddenly lost, as
happens when a person loses
consciousness, the body collapses.
Bases in Naming Muscles
● Location
● Action
● Points of attachment
● Number of heads/ number of slips
● Shape/size
● Direction of fibers

Major Skeletal Muscles

● Muscles of the face
○ for facial expression
○ for mastication
● Muscles of the neck and upper back
● Muscles of the posterior shoulders
○ for the movement of the head
and back muscles
○ (sternocleidomastoid, splenius capitis,
○ for the movement of the arm.
semispinalis capitis)
○ for the movement of the pectoral
girdle.

● Chest and shoulder muscles ● Muscles that connect the radius and
○ for the movement of the pectoral ulna to the humerus or pectoral girdle.
girdle ○ for the movement of the forearm.
○ for the movement of the arm
● Muscles that move the hand. ○ ischiocavernosus
○ flexor and extensor muscles

● Muscles that move the thigh.

○ anterior group
● Muscles of the Abdominal Wall.
○ posterior group

● Muscles of the Pelvic Outlet

● Muscles that move the leg.
○ pelvic diaphragm
○ flexors – biceps femoris,
levator ani semitendinosus,
○ urogenital diaphragm semimembranosus, sartorius.
○ superficial transversus perinei
○ bulbospongiosus
 ○ extensors - quadriceps femoris
group, vastus lateralis, vastus
medialis, and vastus intermedius.
● Muscles of the leg that move the ankle,
foot, and toes.
Depressor muscles - is a facial muscle.
It originates from the mandible and
inserts into the angle of the mouth. It is
associated with frowning, as it
depresses the corner of the mouth.
Levator muscle - largest component
of the pelvic floor. It is a broad
muscular sheet that attaches to the
bodies of the pubic bones anteriorly,
ischial spines posteriorly and to a
thickened fascia of the obturator
internus muscle
Away from the midline - abductor muscle
Near to the midline - adductor muscle
Constrictor muscle - closes
Dilator - open apart
Flex apart - flexor muscle
Strengthen apart - extensor muscle
Synergies - the activation of a group
of muscles to contribute to a
particular movement
Antagonists - as one muscle contracts
the other muscle relaxes or lengthens.
The muscle that is contracting is called
the agonist and the muscle that is
relaxing or lengthening is called the
antagonist.
POINTS OF ATTACHMENT
Point of origin - fixed and proximally
located in the point of attachemnt
Insertion - Movable and distally located
point of attachment
More than 1 points - heads of the muscle
More than 1 insertions - slips