Chapter 3: Movement and Muscle Physiology Bio 35 | Animal Physiology (Lecture)

Chapter 3 – Movement and Muscle Physiology

Locomotion in Vertebrates and Invertebrates

I. Non-muscular Movement
 All cells have some capacity to move and changes shape due to their cytoskeleton.
 Protozoan protists move by means of specific nonmuscular structures (pseudopodia, flagella, or cilia) that
involve the contractile proteins actin and myosin.
 Interactions between these proteins are also responsible for muscle contraction in animals.
1. Amoeboid Movement
 The plasma membrane of an amoeba has
adhesive properties since new
pseudopodia attach to the substrate as they
form.
 The plasma membrane also seems to slide
over the underlying layer of cytoplasm when
an amoeba moves.
 The plasma membrane may be “rolling” in a
way that is (roughly) analogous to a
bulldozer track rolling over its wheels.
2. Cilia and Flagella
 Cilia – are shorter and more numerous
 Flagella – are long and generally occur
singly or in pairs
 Ciliary movements are coordinated.
 The epidermis of free-living flatworms and
nemertines is abundantly ciliated.
 The smallest specimen lies at the upper end
of the size range for efficient locomotion
using cilia.
 Larger flatworms have retained ciliary
creeping as the principal means of
locomotion, and the largest animals move by
ciliary creeping are the nemertines.
II. Animal Muscle
 Muscle tissue has three other important properties:
1. Excitability (irritability)
2. Extensibility
3. Elasticity
 Animals may have one or more of the following types of muscle tissue: smooth, cardiac, and skeletal. The
contractile cells of these tissue are called muscle fibers.

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Chapter 3: Movement and Muscle Physiology Bio 35 | Animal Physiology (Lecture)

A. The Muscular System of Invertebrates

 A few functional differences among invertebrate’s muscle indicate some of the differences from the
vertebrate skeletal muscle.
The Locomotion of Soft-Bodied Invertebrates
1. Pedal Locomotion – move by means of waves of activity in the muscular system that applied to the
substrate. (E.g. bristles in earthworms)
2. Looping Movement – arching movements are equivalent to the contraction of longitudinal muscle
- Polychaete worms move by the alternate movement of multiple limbs (parapodia)
3. Water Vascular System – the WVS of echinoderms provide a unique means of locomotion. Along each
canal are reservoir ampullae and tube feet.

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Chapter 3: Movement and Muscle Physiology Bio 35 | Animal Physiology (Lecture)

Terrestrial Locomotion in Invertebrates

1. Walking
o They required structural support, and those that move quickly make use of rigid skeletal elements
that interact with the ground.
o These limbs are composed of a series of jointed elements that become progressively less massive
toward the tip.
o Each joint articulated to allow movement in only one plane.
o The limb plane at the basal joint with the body can also rotate and this rotation is responsible for
forward movement.
2. Flight
o The physical properties of an arthropod’s cuticle are such that true flight evolved for pterygote
insects some 100 million years ago.
o The basic mechanism for flight has been modified.
o Present day insects exhibit a wide range of structural adaptations and mechanism for flight.
3. Jumping – long legs increase the mechanical advantage of the leg extensor muscle.
B. The Muscular System of Invertebrates
 Tendons – tough, fibrous bands or cords, attach skeletal muscle to the skeleton
 Myomeres segments – cause the lateral undulations of the trunk and tail that produce fish locomotion
Fish Movement Based on the Myomere Contraction:
1. The muscular forces cause the myomere segment to rotate rather than constrict.
2. The rotation of cranial and caudal myomere segments bend the fish’s body about a point midway
between two segments.
3. Alternate bends of the caudal end of the body propel the fish forward.

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Chapter 3: Movement and Muscle Physiology Bio 35 | Animal Physiology (Lecture)

Human Muscular Physiology

I. Functions of Muscle
1. Body movement (Locomotion) – in Biophysics, there are levers in the body for contraction
2. Maintenance of Posture
3. Respiration
- Diaphragm (inferior to the lungs) and intercostal contractions
4. Communication (Verbal and Facial)
5. Constriction of Organs and Vessels – smooth muscles are mainly responsible
- Peristalsis of intestinal tract
- Vasoconstriction of blood vessels and other structures (pupils)
6. Heart Beat (autonomic, cardiac muscles)
7. Production of Body Heat (Thermogenesis) – shivering is an automatic response for body heat in cold
II. Properties of Muscle
1. Excitability: capacity of muscle to respond to a stimulus
2. Contractibility: ability of a muscle to shorten and generate pulling force
3. Extensibility: muscle can be stretched back to its original length
4. Elasticity – ability of muscle to recoil to original resting length after stretched.
III. Types of Muscle
1. Skeletal
- Attached to bones, striated, rapid contractions
- Makes up 40% of body weight
- Responsible for locomotion, facial expressions, posture,
respiratory movements, other types of body movement
- Voluntary in action; controlled by somatic motor neurons
- Long cylindrical cells
- Many nuclei per cell (multinucleated)
2. Smooth
- In the walls of hollow organs, blood vessels, eye, glands,
uterus, skin
- Some functions: propel urine, mix food in digestive
tract, dilating/constricting pupils, regulating blood flow,
- In some locations, autorhythmic
- Controlled involuntarily by endocrine and autonomic
nervous systems
- Fusiform (tapering/getting smaller at both ends) cells
- One nucleus per cell (uninucleate), nonstriated
- Slow, wave-like contractions
3. Cardiac
- Heart: major source of movement of blood
- Autorhythmic
- Controlled involuntarily by endocrine and autonomic nervous systems

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Chapter 3: Movement and Muscle Physiology Bio 35 | Animal Physiology (Lecture)

Skeletal Muscle Smooth Muscle Cardiac Muscle

1. Shape of cell filamentous spindle branched filamentous
2. Number and location of
many, periphery 1, center 1, center
nucleus
walls of hollow organs,
3. Location attached to bone heart
blood vessels,
4. Nervous Control voluntary involuntary involuntary
5. Striations present absent present
pumps blood in the
6. Function movement motion
heart

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Chapter 3: Movement and Muscle Physiology Bio 35 | Animal Physiology (Lecture)

IV. Connective Tissue Sheaths

A. Epimysium – Dense regular connective tissue surrounding entire muscle
- Separates muscle from surrounding tissues and organs
- Connected to the deep fascia
B. Perimysium – Collagen and elastic fibers surrounding a group of muscle fibers called a fascicle
- Contains blood vessels and nerves
C. Endomysium – Loose connective tissues that surrounds individual muscle fibers
- Also contains blood vessels, nerves, and satellite cells (embryonic stem cells function in repair of muscle
tissue)
 Collagen fibers of all 3 layers come together at each end of muscle to form a tendon or aponeurosis.

V. Nerve and Blood Vessel Supply

 Motor Neurons
- Stimulate muscle fibers to contract
- Neuron axons branch so that each muscle fiber (muscle cell) is innervated
- Form a neuromuscular junction (myoneural junction)
 Capillary beds surround muscle fibers
- Muscles require large amounts of energy (highly vascularized)
- Extensive vascular network delivers necessary oxygen and nutrients and carries away metabolic waste
produced by muscle fibers

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Chapter 3: Movement and Muscle Physiology Bio 35 | Animal Physiology (Lecture)

VI. Skeletal Muscle Structure

 Composed of muscle cells (fibers), connective
tissue, blood vessels, nerves
 Fibers are long, cylindrical, and multinucleated
 Tend to be smaller diameter in small muscles and
larger in large muscles. 1 mm- 4 cm in length
 Develop from myoblasts; numbers remain constant
 Striated appearance
 Nuclei are peripherally located
Microanatomy of Skeletal Muscle

VII. Muscle Fiber Anatomy

A. Sarcolemma – cell membrane
 Surrounds the sarcoplasm (cytoplasm of fiber)
o Contains many of the same organelles seen in other cells
o An abundance of the oxygen-binding protein myoglobin
 Punctuated by openings called the transverse tubules (T-tubules)
o Narrow tubes that extend into the sarcoplasm at right angles to the surface
o Filled with extracellular fluid
B. Myofibrils – cylindrical structures within muscle fiber
 Are bundles of protein filaments (=myofilaments)
o Two types of myofilaments
1. Actin filaments (thin filaments)
2. Myosin filaments (thick filaments)
 At each end of the fiber, myofibrils are anchored to the inner surface of the sarcolemma
 When myofibril shortens, muscle shortens (contracts)
C. Sarcoplasmic Reticulum (SR)
 SR is an elaborate, smooth endoplasmic reticulum
o runs longitudinally and surrounds each myofibril
o Form chambers called terminal cisternae on either side of the T-tubules
 A single T-tubule and the 2 terminal cisternae form a triad
 SR stores Ca++ when muscle not contracting
o When stimulated, calcium released into sarcoplasm
o SR membrane has Ca++ pumps that function to pump Ca++ out of the sarcoplasm back into the SR
after contraction

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 Chapter 3: Movement and Muscle Physiology Bio 35 | Animal Physiology (Lecture)

VIII. Structure of Actin and Myosin

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Chapter 3: Movement and Muscle Physiology Bio 35 | Animal Physiology (Lecture)

A. Actin (Thin) Filament – composed of 3 major

proteins
1. F (fibrous) actin
2. Tropomyosin
3. Troponin
 Two strands of fibrous (F) actin form a double
helix extending the length of the myofilament;
attached at either end at sarcomere.
o Composed of G actin monomers each of
which has a myosin-binding site (see
yellow dot)
o Actin site can bind myosin during muscle
contraction.
 Tropomyosin: an elongated protein winds along
the groove of the F actin double helix.
 Troponin is composed of three subunits:
o Tn-A: binds to actin
o Tn-T: binds to tropomyosin,
o Tn-C: binds to calcium ions.
B. Myosin (Thick Filament) – many elongated myosin
molecules are shaped like golf clubs
 Single filament contains roughly 300 myosin
molecules
 Molecule consists of two heavy myosin
molecules wound together to form a rod portion
lying parallel to the myosin myofilament and two
heads that extend laterally.
 Myosin heads
1. Can bind to active sites on the actin
molecules to form cross-bridges (Actin
binding site).
2. Attached to the rod portion by a hinge region
that can bend and straighten during contraction.
3. Have ATPase activity: activity that breaks down
adenosine triphosphate (ATP), releasing energy.
Part of the energy is used to bend the hinge
region of the myosin molecule during
contraction
C. Sarcomeres: Z Disk to Z Disk
 Sarcomere – repeating functional units of a
myofibril
o About 10,000 sarcomeres per myofibril,
end to end
o Each is about 2 µm long
 Differences in size, density, and distribution of thick
and thin filaments gives the muscle fiber a banded
or striated appearance.
o A bands: a dark band; full length of thick
(myosin) filament
o M line - protein to which myosins attach
o H zone - thick but NO thin filaments

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Chapter 3: Movement and Muscle Physiology Bio 35 | Animal Physiology (Lecture)

o I bands: a light band; from Z disks to ends of thick filaments

 Thin but NO thick filaments
 Extends from A band of one sarcomere to A band of the next sarcomere
o Z disk: filamentous network of protein. Serves as attachment for actin myofilaments
o Titin filaments: elastic chains of amino acids; keep thick and thin filaments in proper alignment.

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Chapter 3: Movement and Muscle Physiology Bio 35 | Animal Physiology (Lecture)

Sliding Filament Model of Contraction

 Thin filaments slide past the
thick ones so that the actin and myosin
filaments overlap to a greater degree
 In the relaxed state, thin and
thick filaments overlap only slightly
 Upon stimulation, myosin heads
bind to actin and sliding begins
 H–band – area of the sarcomere
that has only myosin

 The Ca+ ions bind to the troponin
 This binding weakens troponin-
tropomyosin complex and actin
 Troponin molecule changes
position, rolling the tropomyosin
away from the active sites on actin
 Thus, allowing them to interact with
energized myosin heads
With the active sites on the
actin exposed, the myosin
heads bind to the, forming
cross-bridges
After cross-bridge formation, the
ATP present in the myosin is used to
“cock” (the opposite direction from
its resting state). As the ATP is used
and the ADP + P is released, the
“power stroke” occurs as the myosin
pivots toward the M line.

When another ATP molecule
attaches to the myosin head, the
cross-bridge between the active site
of the actin molecule and myosin
head is broken. Thus, freeing up
the head to make another bridge
and complete the contraction.
Myosin splits the ATP into ADP +
P and uses the released energy to
re-cock the myosin head (reaching
forward). Cycle can be repeated
endlessly as along as calcium ion
concentration remain high and
sufficient ATP is present.

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Chapter 3: Movement and Muscle Physiology Bio 35 | Animal Physiology (Lecture)

The actin filaments are moved by the heads of the myosin

filaments. In step one the myosin head attaches to an actin
filament to create a cross bridge. Step two shows that the attached
myosin head bends to move the actin filament. The myosin head
expended energy to create this movement. This is a power stroke or
working stroke. Step three shows that energy in the form of ATP
will unhook the myosin head. In step 4 the myosin head is cocked
and ready to attach to an actin filament to start another power
stroke.

Neuromuscular Junction
 Region where the motor neuron stimulates the muscle fiber
 The neuromuscular junction is formed by:
1. End of motor neuron axon (axon terminal)
o Terminals have small membranous sacs (synaptic vesicles) that contain the neurotransmitter
acetylcholine (ACh)
2. The motor end plate of a muscle
o A specific part of the sarcolemma that contains ACh receptors
 Though exceedingly close, axonal ends and muscle fibers are always separated by a space called the synaptic cleft

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Chapter 3: Movement and Muscle Physiology Bio 35 | Animal Physiology (Lecture)

Steps in Muscular Innervation

1. Depolarization of plasma membrane
2. Release of acetylcholine – Vesicles in the
synaptic terminal fuse with the neuronal
membrane and dump their contents into the
synaptic cleft.
3. ACh binding at the motor end plate – the
binding of ACh to the receptors increases
the membrane permeability to sodium
ions. Sodium ions then rush into the cell.
4. Appearance of an action potential in the
sarcolemma – an action potential spreads
across the surface of the sarcolemma. While
this occurs, AChE breaks down ACh.
The Neurotransmitter – Acetylcholine
o Travels across the synaptic cleft
o Binds to membrane receptors on
sarcolemma (motor end plate)
o Causes sodium–ion to rush into
sarcoplasm
o Is quickly broken down by
enzyme (acetylcholinesterase or
AChE)
5. Return to initial state – If another action potential arrives at the NMJ, the cycle begins again at Step 1.

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Chapter 3: Movement and Muscle Physiology Bio 35 | Animal Physiology (Lecture)

Steps in Muscle Contraction

A. Initiation
1. ACh released, binding to receptors
2. Action potential reaches T tubule
3. Sarcoplasmic reticulum releases Ca 2+
- Free Ca2+ in the sarcoplasm triggers contraction
- SR releases Ca2+ when a motor neuron stimulates the muscle fiber
4. Active site exposure, cross-bridge formation
5. Contraction begins – Contraction is an active process
- Sarcomeres remain contracted
- Skeletal muscle fibers shorten as thin filaments slide between thick filaments
B. Relaxation
6. ACh broken down by ACHe
7. Sarcoplasmic reticulum recaptures Ca2+
8. Active sites covered, no cross-bridge interaction
9. Contraction ends
10. Relaxation occurs, passive return to resting length – Relaxation and return to resting length are passive
- Ca2+ concentrations fall
- Ca2+ detaches from troponin
- Active sites are re-covered by tropomyosin
Motor Unit: The Nerve-Muscle Functional Unit

 A motor unit is a motor neuron and all the muscle fibers it supplies
 The number of muscle fibers per motor unit can vary from a few (4-6) to hundreds (1200-1500)
 Muscles that control fine movements (fingers, eyes) have small motor units
 Large weight-bearing muscles (thighs, hips) have large motor units
 Muscle fibers from a motor unit are spread throughout the muscle
o Not confined to one fascicle
 Therefore, contraction of a single motor unit causes weak contraction of the entire muscle
 Stronger and stronger contractions of a muscle require more and more motor units being stimulated (recruited)

A motor unit is all the muscle cells controlled by one nerve cell. This
diagram represents two motor units. Motor unit one illustrates two
muscle cells controlled by one nerve cell. When the nerve sends a
message it will cause both muscle cells to contract. Motor unit two has
three muscle cells innervated by one nerve cell.

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Chapter 3: Movement and Muscle Physiology Bio 35 | Animal Physiology (Lecture)

Muscle Contraction
Muscle Contraction Summary
1. Nerve impulse reaches myoneural junction
2. Acetylcholine is released from motor neuron
3. Ach binds with receptors in the muscle membrane to allow sodium to enter
4. Sodium influx will generate an action potential in the sarcolemma
5. Action potential travels down T tubule
6. Sarcoplasmic reticulum releases calcium
7. Calcium binds with troponin to move the troponin, tropomyosin complex
8. Binding sites in the actin filament are exposed
9. Myosin head attach to binding sites and create a power stroke
10. ATP detaches myosin heads and energizes them for another contraction
11. When action potentials cease the muscle stop contracting

The influx of sodium will create an

action potential in the sarcolemma.
Note: This is the same mechanism
for generating action potentials for
the nerve impulse. The action
potential travels down a T tubule. As
the action potential passes through
the sarcoplasmic reticulum it
stimulates the release of calcium ions.
Calcium binds with troponin to move
tropomyosin and expose the binding
sites. Myosin heads attach to the
binding sites of the actin filament and
create a power stroke. ATP detaches
the myosin heads and energizes them
for another contraction. The process
will continue until the action
potentials cease. Without action
potentials the calcium ions will return
to the sarcoplasmic reticulum.

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