Module 6: Muscular System

Muscle Tissue

Chemical Energy Mechanical Energy

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 Types of Muscle Tissue

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 Terminology
• Myo/Mys = muscle

• Muscle fiber = a muscle cell (skeletal or

smooth)
– Called “fibers” because they are elongated

• Cardiac muscle cells aren’t elongated, so are

usually just called “cardiac muscle cells”
 Muscle Functions
Producing movement
Maintaining posture
and body position

Additional functions
• Protect organs
• Regulate passage of
substances
• Constriction/dilation (eye,
blood vessels)
Generating heat

Stabilizing joints
 Skeletal Muscle
• Rich blood supply
• Each fiber is supplied with a nerve ending
(cannot contract without nervous stimulation)

Motor Unit: a single nerve

(neuron) and all of the
muscle fibers it innervates
(supplies)
 Attachments
• DIRECT: Muscle fused to bone or cartilage
• INDIRECT: Tendon/aponeurosis attaches
muscle to bone
Skeletal Muscle: Microscopic Anatomy
Skeletal Muscle: Microscopic Anatomy
 Sliding Filament Theory of Skeletal Muscle
Contraction

1. Nerve stimulates muscle

2. Calcium released into muscle
3. Myofilaments contract
 Types of Contraction

Isometric: load is equal to

force of contraction

Concentric (Isotonic): force

of contraction is stronger
than load

Eccentric: load is stronger

than force of contraction
 Force of Muscle Contraction
Factors affecting force of contraction:
- Number of muscle fibers recruited
- Size of muscle fibers
- Frequency of nerve stimulation
- Degree of muscle stretch
- Fibers have an optimal length for maximizing
contraction
- Ie. If muscle is stretched, thick filament can’t reach
thin filament
 Smooth Muscle

 Elongated, spindle-shaped fibers (cells); much smaller than skeletal

muscle fibers
 Located in walls of body organs (except heart) & blood vessels
Smooth Muscle: Microscopic Structure

• Organized into tight sheets, usually two layers:

– Longitudinal
– Circular
 Smooth Muscle Contraction
• Contains thick/thin filaments, but thick filaments
are shorter and there are far less of them
• Filaments organized diagonally (not in organized
straight lines), so no striations
• Single neuron reaches more muscle fibers (more
of a joint contraction)
• Some have no nerve at all -> local
chemicals/hormones stimulate contraction
 Cardiac Muscle

 Located only in heart

 Contains thick/thin filaments set up similarly to
skeletal muscle (ie. striations)
 NO nerves -> contractions controlled by local
electrical/chemical controls (pacemaker)
 Interconnected; contract as one (more so than other
muscle types