Muscular System

Preparatory Year
2021
 Objectives

Identify the characteristics of muscle tissue.

Determine the structure and function of the three major types of

muscle tissue.

Explain the microscopic structure of skeletal muscle.

Describe the sliding filament theory of muscle contraction.

 The Muscular System

Is a tough group of tissues that make the body parts

move
It is over 650 muscles in the body and they work the
same way
Over 50 of those muscles are in the face alone
The strongest muscle in the body is the masseter
muscle
The most active muscles are those in the eyes.
 Characteristic of muscle tissues

Excitable: The ability to respond to a stimulus

Contractible: Condition of being able to contract or shrink

Extensible: They can be stretched

Elasticity: They return to normal length after stretching

 Types of muscles

We have different kinds of muscles in our body

Muscles contract & relax to move body parts, or internal organs

Muscle movements could be voluntary or non- voluntary

There are three types of muscles:
 Cardiac muscle

Makes up myocardium of heart

Involuntary

Microscopically appears striated

Cells are short, branching &

have a single nucleus

Cells connect to each other

at intercalated disc

Pump blood throughout the body

 Smooth muscle

Makes up walls of organs & blood

vessels

Involuntary

Microscopically appears non-

striated

Cells are short, spindle shaped &

have a single nucleus
 Skeletal muscles

Attached to the skeleton by tendons

Voluntary

Microscopically appears striated

Cells are long cylindrical &

multinucleated
 Types of muscles

Muscle Cell Shape Striation Nucleus Control Location

Tissue
Skeletal Cylindrical yes Multinucleate and Voluntary Attached to
peripheral skeleton
Cardiac Cylindrical and yes Uninucleate and Involuntary Heart
branch central
Smooth Spindle No Uninucleate and Involuntary walls of
central hollow
organs
 Function of skeletal muscle
1- Produce movement

Muscle pulls tendons to move the skeleton

A muscle that contracts to create the desired

action is known as an agonist or prime mover
Tendons

A muscle that helps the agonist is a synergist

A muscle that opposes the action of the agonist,

therefore undoing the desired action is an
antagonist
Example: the biceps flex your arm and its partner
the triceps extend your arm. The two muscles are
antagonists, i.e. cause opposite action. When one
contracts the other relaxes.
 Function of skeletal muscle

2- Maintain posture and body position

continuous muscle contraction.

3- Support soft tissue

Support weight of visceral organs.

4-Guard entrances and exits of body systems

Encircle openings to digestive and urinary tracts, control swallowing,
defecation and urination.

5-Maintain body temperature

Energy from muscle contraction is converted to heat
 Attachment of skeletal muscles

Muscles attachment
Every muscles has at least one point of
origin on the stationary bone and an
insertion on a bone that moves when the
muscle contracts.

Origin: an attachment site for a less

movable bone

Insertion: an attachment site for a more

moveable bone
 Organization of skeletal muscles
It consists of muscle cells called (muscle fibers)
Skeletal muscle fibers (cells) are arranged into
bundles called fascicles.
Connective tissues coverings :
1. Endomysium: surrounds each muscle fiber
(cell).
2. Perimysium: surrounds group of muscle
fibers (fascicle).
3. Epimysium: surrounds the whole skeletal
muscle, binds fascicles together.

Collagen fibers of all 3 layers come together

at each end of muscle to form a tendon.
 Arrangement of skeletal muscles
A single muscle cell is a muscle fiber.
Fibers are made up of myofibrils.
Myofibrils are bundles of filaments that are two types:
thick and thin filaments.

o Sarcolemma: muscle cell membrane.

o Sarcoplasm: muscle cell cytoplasm.
 Arrangement of skeletal muscles

• Myofibrils are striated: striations due to arrangement of thick and thin

filaments
o Thick filaments consist of the protein myosin.
o Thin filaments consist of the protein actin.

• The length of each myofibril is divided into

repeating units called sarcomeres.

• A sarcomeres is the functional unit of skeletal

muscle.
Organization of skeletal muscles
 Contraction of skeletal muscles

• The myosin is slightly thicker and make up the dark band.

• The actin make up the light bands which are situated on either
side of the dark band.
 Sliding filament theory for muscle contraction

• Muscle contraction occurs when the myosin and actin filaments slide
across each other.
• What actually occurs is myosin pulls the actin in.
• This shortens the muscle and cause muscle contraction
• This is described by the sliding filament theory
 Contraction in the Sarcomere

• A band stays the same

• I band gets smaller

• H zone gets smaller

• Sarcomere shortens
Thank you