SKELETAL MUSCLE ATTACHMENTS

THE MUSCULAR SYSTEM ▪ Epimysium blends into a connective tissue

- Muscles are responsible for all types of body movement
- Three basic muscle types are found in the body
▪ Skeletal muscle
▪ Cardiac muscle
▪ Smooth muscle
CHARACTERISTICS OF MUSCLES
▪ Muscle cells are elongated
(muscle cell = muscle fiber)
▪ Contraction of muscles is due to the movement of
microfilaments
▪ All muscles share some terminology
▪ Prefix myo refers to muscle
▪ Prefix mys refers to muscle
▪ Prefix sarco refers to flesh
attachment
o Tendon – cord-like structure
o Aponeuroses – sheet-like structure
▪ Sites of muscle attachment
o Bones
o Cartilages
o Connective tissue coverings
▪ Has no striations
▪ Spindle-shaped cells
▪ Single nucleus
▪ Involuntary – no conscious control
▪ Found mainly in the walls of hollow organs

SKELETAL MUSCLE CHARACTERISTICS

▪ Most are attached by tendons to bones
▪ Cells are multinucleated
▪ Striated – have visible banding
▪ Voluntary – subject to conscious control
▪ Cells are surrounded and bundled by connective
tissue

CONNECTIVE TISSUE WRAPPINGS

OF SKELETAL MUSCLE
▪ Endomysium – around single muscle fiber
▪ Perimysium – around a fascicle (bundle) of fibers
CARDIAC MUSCLE CHARACTERISTICS
▪ Has striations
▪ Usually has a single nucleus
▪ Joined to another muscle cell at an intercalated disc
▪ Involuntary
▪ Found only in the heart

▪ Epimysium – covers the entire skeletal muscle

▪ Fascia – on the outside of the epimysium
FUNCTION OF MUSCLES
▪ Produce movement
▪ Maintain posture
▪ Stabilize joints
▪ Generate heat
 MICROSCOPIC ANATOMY OF PROPERTIES OF SKELETAL MUSCLE ACTIVITY
SKELETAL MUSCLE ▪ Irritability – ability to receive and respond to a
▪ Cells are multinucleate stimulus
▪ Nuclei are just beneath the sarcolemma ▪ Contractility – ability to shorten when an adequate
▪ Sarcolemma – specialized plasma membrane stimulus is received
▪ Sarcoplasmic reticulum – specialized smooth
endoplasmic reticulum NERVE STIMULUS TO MUSCLES
▪ Skeletal muscles must be stimulated by a nerve to
contract
▪ Motor unit
- One neuron
- Muscle cells stimulated by that neuron

▪ Myofibril
- Bundles of myofilaments
- Myofibrils are aligned to give distinct
bands
o I band = light band
o A band = dark band
▪ Sarcomere
- Contractile unit of a muscle fiber

▪ Organization of the sarcomere

o Thick filaments = myosin filaments
- Composed of the protein myosin
- Has ATPase enzymes
o Thin filaments = actin filaments
- Composed of the protein actin
▪ Neuromuscular junctions – association site of
nerve and muscle
▪ Synaptic cleft – gap between nerve and muscle
- Nerve and muscle do not make contact
- Area between nerve and muscle is filled with
interstitial fluid

▪ Myosin filaments have heads (extensions, or cross

bridges)
▪ Myosin and actin overlap somewhat
▪ At rest, there is a bare zone that lacks actin
filaments
▪ Sarcoplasmic reticulum (SR)
– for storage of calcium
TRANSMISSION OF NERVE IMPULSE TO
MUSCLE
▪ Neurotransmitter – chemical released by nerve
upon arrival of nerve impulse
o The neurotransmitter for skeletal muscle
is acetylcholine
▪ Neurotransmitter attaches to receptors on the
sarcolemma
▪ Sarcolemma becomes permeable to sodium (Na+)
▪ Sodium rushing into the cell generates an action
potential
▪ Once started, muscle contraction cannot be
stopped

THE SLIDING FILAMENT THEORY

OF MUSCLE CONTRACTION
▪ Activation by nerve causes myosin heads
(crossbridges) to attach to binding sites on the thin
filament
▪ Myosin heads then bind to the next site of the thin
filament
▪ This continued action causes a sliding of the myosin
along the actin
▪ The result is that the muscle is shortened
(contracted)
CONTRACTION OF A SKELETAL MUSCLE
▪ Muscle fiber contraction is “all or none”
▪ Within a skeletal muscle, not all fibers may be
stimulated during the same interval
▪ Different combinations of muscle fiber contractions
may give differing responses
▪ Graded responses – different degrees of skeletal
muscle shortening

TYPES OF GRADED RESPONSES

a) Twitch
▪ Single, brief contraction
▪ Not a normal muscle function
b) Tetanus (summing of contractions)
▪ One contraction is immediately followed by
another
▪ The muscle does not completely
return to a resting state
▪ The effects are added

c) Unfused (incomplete) tetanus

▪ Some relaxation occurs between
contractions
▪ The results are summed
THE SLDING FILAMENT THEORY d) Fused (complete) tetanus
▪ No evidence of relaxation before the
following contractions
▪ The result is a sustained muscle contraction
MUSCLE RESPONSE TO STRONG STIMULI
▪ Muscle force depends upon the number of fibers
stimulated
▪ More fibers contracting results in greater muscle
tension
▪ Muscles can continue to contract unless they run
out of energy
ENERGY FOR MUSCLE CONTRACTION
▪ Initially, muscles used stored ATP for energy
- Bonds of ATP are broken to release energy
- Only 4-6 seconds worth of ATP is stored by
muscles
▪ After this initial time, other pathways must be
utilized to produce ATP
▪ Direct phosphorylation
- Muscle cells contain creatine phosphate
(CP)
• CP is a high-energy molecule
- After ATP is depleted, ADP is left
- CP transfers energy to ADP, to regenerate
ATP
- CP supplies are exhausted in about 20
seconds
▪ Aerobic Respiration
- Series of metabolic pathways that occur in
the mitochondria
- Glucose is broken down to carbon dioxide
and water, releasing energy
- This is a slower reaction that requires
continuous oxygen
▪ Anaerobic glycolysis (continued)
- This reaction is not as efficient, but is fast
• Huge amounts of glucose are
needed
• Lactic acid produces muscle
fatigue
MUSCLE FATIGUE AND OXYGEN DEBT
▪ When a muscle is fatigued, it is unable to contract
▪ The common reason for muscle fatigue is oxygen
debt
- Oxygen must be “repaid” to tissue to
remove oxygen debt
- Oxygen is required to get rid of
accumulated lactic acid
▪ Increasing acidity (from lactic acid) and lack of ATP
causes the muscle to contract less
TYPES OF MUSCLE CONTRACTIONS
▪ Isotonic contractions
- Myofilaments are able to slide past each
other during contractions
- The muscle shortens
▪ Isometric contractions
- Tension in the muscles increases
- The muscle is unable to shorten
MUSCLE TONE
▪ Some fibers are contracted even in a relaxed
muscle
▪ Different fibers contract at different times to
provide muscle tone
▪ The process of stimulating various fibers is under
involuntary control
 MUSCLES AND BODY MOVEMENTS
▪ Movement is attained due to a muscle moving an
attached bone
▪ Muscles are attached to at least two points
• Origin – attachment to a moveable bone
• Insertion – attachment to an immovable
bone

SPECIAL MOVEMENTS
▪ Dorsiflexion
▪ Plantar flexion
▪ Inversion
▪ Eversion
EFFECTS OF EXERCISE ON MUSCLE ▪ Supination
▪ Pronation
▪ Results of increased muscle use ▪ Opposition
o Increase in muscle size
o Increase in muscle strength TYPES OF MUSCLES
o Increase in muscle efficiency
o Muscle becomes more fatigue resistant ▪ Prime mover – muscle with the major
responsibility for a certain movement
TYPES OF ORDINARY MOVEMENTS ▪ Antagonist – muscle that opposes or reverses a
prime mover
▪ Flexion ▪ Synergist – muscle that aids a prime mover in a
▪ Extension movement and helps prevent rotation
▪ Rotation ▪ Fixator – stabilizes the origin of a prime mover
▪ Abduction
▪ Circumduction NAMING OF SKELETAL MUSCLES

BODY MOVEMENTS ▪ Direction of muscle fbers

o Example: rectus (straight)
▪ Relative size of the muscle
o Example: maximus (largest)
▪ Location of the muscle
o Example: many muscles are named for
bones (e.g., temporalis)
▪ Number of origins
o Example: triceps (three heads)
▪ Location of the muscle’s origin and insertion
o Example: sterno (on the sternum)
▪ Shape of the muscle
o Example: deltoid (triangular)
▪ Action of the muscle
o Example: flexor and extensor
(flexes or extends a bone)
HEAD AND NECK MUSCLES MUSCLES OF THE PELVIC, HIP, AND THIGH

TRUNK MUSCLES

MUSCLES OF THE LOWER LEG

SUPERFICIAL MUSCLES: ANTERIOR SUPERFICIAL MUSCLES: POSTERIOR