Musculo-Skeletal System

Muscles + Bones = Locomotion

 Types of muscle tissue
•These three types are
found in vertebrates:

•Skeletal: striated,
voluntary control

•Smooth: involuntary
control

•Cardiac: involuntary
control
 Smooth muscle
• Have contractile
fibers, but lack
orderly striations of
skeletal muscle.

• Where would you

expect smooth
muscle (involuntary
control) to be
found?
 Cardiac muscle
• Influenced by
nerves and
hormones, but has
“electrical” system
of its own to initiate
and coordinate
contractions.

• Where would you

expect cardiac
muscle to be found?
 Skeletal muscle
• Orderly striations
are due to
arrangement of
contractile fibers.
• Produces
locomotion.
• Where would you
expect skeletal
(voluntary control)
muscle to be found?
 Muscle fibers
• A muscle cell is a
“fiber.”
• Fibers are
multinucleated and
contain myoglobin.
(Similar to
hemoglobin – what
is its function?)
• Myofibrils contain
the contractile
fibers.
 Myofibril
• The myofibril is
composed of “thick”
and “thin”
filaments.
• Each of these
filaments is made up
of strands of protein.
• How might this
arrangement of
proteins create
motion?
 Thick and thin filaments
• The thick filaments,
made mostly of
myosin, have small
“heads” that move.

• The thin filaments

have points to
which the myosin
heads temporarily
attach.
Muscle fiber action
 All or nothing
• Fibers are either “on”
(contracted) or “off”
(relaxed).

• When lifting light

weights, only a few
fibers may be “on.”
For heavy weights,
many more may be
“on,” and may take
turns to prevent
fatigue.
 Slow Twitch, Fast Twitch
• Slow-twitch fibers: lots of myoglobin and
mitochondria. What activities would use
these fibers?.
• Fast-twitch: less myoglobin, but more able to
use glycolysis to quickly produce ATP. What
activities would use these fibers?
• Different people have different ratios of these
two fibers.
 Fast-twitch fibers

• Fast-twitch fibers
are for bursts of
strength and speed.
• The tradeoff: Fast-
twitch fibers fatigue
sooner.
 Slow-twitch fibers

• Slow-twitch fibers
are for endurance.
• Trade-off: Slow-
twitch fibers
cannot supply a lot
of power at once.
 Cartilage
• Cartilage tissue
consists of
chondrocytes
(cartilage cells) in a
matrix of collagen
protein.

• Cartilage is tough,
flexible material that
pads joints and is
found in the nose and
ears.
 Bone tissue
• Bone is made up of
bone cells in a matrix
of collagen and
minerals.

• Three types of bone

cells: osteocytes,
osteoblasts, and
osteoclasts.

• Looking at this
arrangement, can you
see why bone and
cartilage take a long
time to heal?
 Bones
• Bones may made up
of:

• Compact bone tissue.

• Spongy bone (location

of red marrow)

• Marrow cavity
(location of yellow
marrow)
Healing fractures
 Osteoporosis
• Osteoporosis is loss of
bone mass, leading to
brittle bones.

• Age, lack of calcium

and Vitamin D,
sedentary lifestyle,
multiple pregnancies,
menopause, alcohol,
and smoking
contribute to
osteoporosis.