SKELETAL,SMOOTH AND CARDIAC MUSCLECOMPARISON.

MUSCLES.
There are 3 types of muscles Cardiac skeletal and smooth.

SKELETAL MUSCLE.
- Directly attached to the skeleton - Aids movement and locomotion - Is voluntarily activated - If you were to view it under a microscope you would see it has a striped appearance which we call Striated Muscle - Fatigues rapidly in comparison to Smooth and Cardiac Muscles - Is able to stretch and then resume original shape - Its striated appearance comes from its formation of actin and myosin muscle fibres - Is capable of powerful muscle contractions and just as adequately small contractions for delicate action requiring precision - Is stimulated by the nervous system in the form of motor neurons - The muscle attaches to the skeletal bone by tendons - Well supplied with nerves and blood vessel.

SMOOTH MUSCLE.
- get its name because it is smooth in appearance if viewed under a microscope, since it is arranged in bundles or sheets of muscle fibres - contracts involuntarily (Regulated by the autonomic part of the nervous system - found in the walls of structures within the body, which are generally hollow (i.e. veins, arteries and the intestines) - one of its key functions is to maintain flow of fluids and foods along its hollow structures - Main locations of involuntary muscle (Erectors of hairs, Pupils, Ducts of glands, Oesophegas, Bronchi, intestines, stomach and Blood vessels) - Slow Rhymithical contractions - Fatigues slowly.

CARDIAC MUSCLE.
- Found only In the heart and at the cardiac ends of the main blood vessels - Contracts involuntarily - If viewed under the microscope it would be striated in appearance - Doesnt fatigue - Rhythmic contractions - Controlled by the central nervous system - Contractions can occur without signals from nervous system due to Pacemaker Cell - High count of mitochondria - High count of myoglobin. - Has a good blood supply.

APPEARANCE.
Both Skeletal muscle and cardiac muscle are striated due to their sliding filament formation of actin and myosin, which gives its a stripy textures, however Smooth muscle is structured differently in layers or bundles of fibres, opposed to interlinking fibres, which is what gives it an unstriated appearance.

LEVEL OF FATIGUE.
Skeletal tissue fatigues much quicker than cardiac or smooth muscle, most skeletal movement isnt essential to homeostasis and survival, it is theoretically quite possible to survive without barely having to use some skeletal muscles at all and others only for postural purposes, this is a fundamental difference between that and the opposite extreme which is cardiac muscle which is under permanent tension to lesser or greater extents, were the cardiac muscles to fatigue to the point at which it can no longer fulfill its duty to transport oxygen within the haemoglobin of the blood, then we would die, a cardiac muscle has a great blood supply and is designed specifically to prevent fatigue, consisting of a high amount of mitochondria for energy production and operates in a rhythmic capacity at which it can maintain, skeletal muscle however tends to have the capacity to exert a higher degree of force when required, research has shown that skeletal muscle mass is in correlation to force exerted, their size is bigger than that of the smooth and cardiac muscles as a result, smooth muscles also has a high fatigue threshold as it fatigues very slowly.

CONSCIOUS OR SUBSCONSIOUS CONTRACTION.

Cardiac and smooth muscle is both operated under a subconscious, involuntary basis, which given the frequency of their contractions is just as well, not only would it be information influx to make a conscious decision but the responsibility would also be too much, It is important that the heart maintains a rhythm, if the cardiac muscles within a heart, beat too fast it would lead to heart problems (High blood pressure) Alternatively if it were too slow it would lead to (Low Blood pressure) and the lack of delivery of the aforementioned goods within the blood would lead to unhealthiness and general lethargy. Skeletal muscle is a voluntary contraction, although sometimes can be a reflex action (i.e. if you hit the patella region with a rubber hammer, it can cause flexion of the knee) but generally it must be a voluntary action, else we would have no control over the locomotion of our body to do every day simple tasks.

COMPARISON.