ANATOMY AND PHYSIOLOGY OF MUSCLE AND NEUROMUSCULAR JUNCTION :

Definitions:

Muscle Tissue: Specialized tissue composed of muscle fibers that contract in response to nervous
stimulation.

Skeletal Muscle: Voluntary muscle tissue attached to bones, responsible for locomotion, posture, and
movement.

Smooth Muscle: Involuntary muscle tissue found in the walls of hollow organs, blood vessels, and
airways, controlling involuntary movements.

Cardiac Muscle: Involuntary muscle tissue found only in the heart, responsible for pumping blood.

Structural Types and Features:

Skeletal Muscle:

Description: Attached to bones, responsible for voluntary movements such as walking and lifting.

Functional Unit: Sarcomere, the basic contractile unit composed of overlapping actin and myosin
filaments.

Features: Multinucleated fibers with striations due to sarcomere arrangement.

Function: Enables precis1e and powerful movements required for daily activities.

Smooth Muscle:

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Description: Found in walls of hollow organs, blood vessels, and airways, controlling involuntary
movements.

Functional Unit: Single-unit smooth muscle cells form functional syncytiums, allowing coordinated
contractions.

Features: Spindle-shaped cells with a single nucleus, lack striations.

Function: Regulates the diameter of organs, blood vessels, and airways, aiding in processes like
digestion and circulation.

Cardiac Muscle:

Description: Unique to the heart, responsible for pumping blood throughout the body.

Functional Unit: Intercalated discs connect cardiac muscle cells, forming functional syncytiums.

Features: Branc2hed cells with a single nucleus, striated appearance.

Function: Generates rhyt3hmic contractions to maintain circulation and provide oxygen to tissues.4

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Physiology of Muscle Contraction:

Muscle contraction is a complex process orchestrated by a series of finely tuned molecular interactions.
At its core lies the sliding filament theory, where actin and myosin filaments slide past each other,
resulting in muscle shortening and force generation.

The journey begins at the neuromuscular junction (NMJ), where a motor neuron releases acetylcholine
(ACh) into the synaptic cleft. ACh binds to receptors on the muscle fiber, triggering depolarization and
propagating an action potential along the sarcolemma and into the T-tubules.

This depolarization signals the sarcoplasmic reticulum to release calcium ions into the cytoplasm.
Calcium ions bind to troponin, causing a conformational change that exposes binding sites on actin.
Myosin heads then bind to actin, forming cross-bridges, and undergo a power stroke, p 5ulling actin
filaments towards the center of the sarcomere.

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ATP provides the energy needed for cross-bridge formation, detachment, and the resetting of the
myosin heads. As long as calcium ions remain bound to troponin, the cycle continues, resulting in
sustained muscle contraction. 6

Once the neural signal subsides, calcium ions are actively pumped back into the sarcoplasmic reticulum,
troponin-tropomyosin complexes re-inhibit actin, and the muscle relaxes.

Development of Muscle Tissue:

Myogenesis: Initiated by signaling molecules such as MyoD and Myf5, leading to the differentiation of
mesodermal cells into myoblasts.

Myoblast Fusion: Myoblasts fuse to form multinucleated myotubes, which subsequently mature into
muscle fibers.

Innervation: Motor neurons extend axons to developing muscle fibers, forming functional connections
at the neuromuscular junction.

Neuromuscular Junction (NMJ):

The neuromuscular junction (NMJ) is a specialized synapse between a motor neuron and a skeletal
muscle fiber. It is responsible for transmitting signals from the nervous system to the muscular system,
initiating muscle contraction in response to neural stimulation.

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Structure

Presynaptic Terminal: Terminal portion of the motor neuron axon, containing synaptic vesicles filled
with acetylcholine (ACh).

Synaptic Cleft: Narrow space between the presynaptic terminal and the motor end plate of the muscle
fiber.

Motor End Plate: Highly folded region of the sarcolemma containing ACh receptors.

Postsynaptic Membrane: Sarcolemma of the muscle fiber, where ACh receptors are located.

Acetylcholine (ACh) Release: Action potential in the motor neuron triggers calcium influx, leading to
exocytosis of ACh from synaptic vesicles into the synaptic cleft.

ACh Receptor Activation: ACh binds to nicotinic receptors on the motor end plate, leading to
depolarization of the postsynaptic membrane.

Depolarization Propagation: Depolarization spreads to the muscle, initiating muscle contraction.

Action of a Neuromuscular Junction7

The neuromuscular junct8ion (NMJ) is where a motor neuron meets a muscle fiber, initiating muscle
contraction. When an action potential reaches the presynaptic terminal, it triggers the release of

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acetylcholine (ACh) into the synaptic cleft. ACh binds to receptors on the motor end plate of the muscle
fiber, causing depolarization. This depolarization spreads, triggering the release of calcium ions from the
sarcoplasmic reticulum. Calcium ions bind to troponin, exposing binding sites on actin, leading to muscle
contraction. After the signal subsides, calcium is pumped back, troponin re-inhibits actin, and the muscle
relaxes. This process enables precise control of movement and motor function.