UNIT 12: THE MUSCULAR SYSTEM

1. List the three types of muscle tissue

2. Differentiate the thee types of muscle according to:
a) Overall shape
b) Presence of striations
c) Nuclei of the muscle cell
d) Functional characteristics
e) Examples within the body
Muscle tissues are highly specialized to contract, or shorten, to produce
movement.

Skeletal muscle: packaged by connective tissue sheets into organs called

skeletal muscles, attached to the skeleton. Can be controlled voluntarily (or
consciously)
a) The cells of skeletal muscle are long, cylindrical
b) Striations
c) Multinucleate
d) When the skeletal muscles contract, they pull on bones or skin. As a result, gross
body movements or changes in our facial expressions occur. Skeletal muscle
cells are elongated to provide a long axis for contraction, often called muscle
fibers.
EXAMPLES : Attached to bones, facial muscle or to skin

Cardiac muscle: Cardiac muscle is under involuntary control

a) Relatively short, branching chains of cells that fit tightly together (like clasped
fingers) at junctions called intercalated discs
b) Striations
c) Uninucleate
d) Intercalated discs contain gap junctions that allow ions to pass freely from cell
to cell. This ties the cardiac cells into a functional syncytium (syn = together;
cyt = cell), resulting in rapid conduction of the exciting electrical impulse
across the heart
EXAMPLES: Walls of the heart

 Smooth (visceral) muscle:

f)
g)
h)
i)

Spindle-shaped, pointed at each end, single, fusiform

No Striations Visible
Uninucleate
Slower than the other two muscle types. When walls contract, the cavity of an
organ becomes smaller (constricts when smooth muscle contracts) or
enlarges (dilates when smooth muscle relaxes) so that substances are
propelled through the organ along a specific pathway. E.g. Peristalsis

EXAMPLES: Found in the walls of hollow organs such as the stomach, uterus, and
blood vessels.

3. Describe the gross structure of the skeletal muscle according to:

Membranes:
Epimysium: overs the entire muscle
Perimysium: Form a bundle of fibers called a fascicle
Endomysium: Encloses muscle fiber in a delicate connective tissue sheath
Fascicles: Bundle of fibers

4. Describe the following terms relating to muscles

Origin and Insertion Site
o Origin is attached to the immovable or less movable bone
o Insertion is attached to the movable bone, and when the muscle
contracts, the insertion moves toward the origin.

Tendon (cordlike)/Aponeurosis (sheetlike)

o Attach muscles indirectly to bones, cartilages, or connective tissue
coverings.acting to anchor muscles, tendons providing durability and
conserving space. Tendons are mostly tough collagenic fibers, so they
can cross rough bony projections, which would tear the more delicate
muscle tissues. Because of their relatively small size, more ten- dons
than fleshy muscles can pass over a joint.

Bursa

o Bursae (purses) are flattened fibrous sacs lined with synovial

membrane and containing a thin film of synovial fluid. They are common
where ligaments, muscles, skin, ten- dons, or bones rub together

Synovial Membrane
o A synovial membrane is the soft tissue found between the
articular capsule (joint capsule) and the joint cavity
of synovial joints.
Tendon Sheath
o A Tendon sheath is essentially an elongated bursa that wraps completely
around a tendon subjected to friction, like a bun around a hot dog.

5. List the three primary functions of the skeletal muscle (page 185)
o Producing Movement
o Maintaining Posture and Body Movement
o Heat: ATP is used to power muscle contraction, three-quarters of its
energy escapes as heat. Vital in maintaining normal body temperature.
Skeletal muscle accounts for at least 40 percent of body mass, so it is the
muscle type most responsible for generating heat

6. Describe how the contraction of a skeletal muscle results in the

movement of a bone (page 197)
Skeletal muscle contractions pull on tendons, which are attached to bones. If
contraction of the muscle causes the muscle to shorten, the bone and, thus, the
body part will move. For example, the biceps brachii is attached to the shoulder
and the forearm bones. Contraction and, thus, shortening, of the biceps brachii
pulls on the tendons attached to the bones. Since the shoulder is stationary, the
forearm moves. Skeletal muscle contraction, however, doesn't always result in
the movement of a body part.

7. Differentiate the following types of skeletal muscle as to:

o Prime Mover: The muscle that has the major responsibility for causing
a particular movement
o Synergist: ( syn = together, erg = work) help prime movers by
producing the same movement or by reducing undesirable movements
o Antagonist: Muscles that oppose or reverse a movement

8. Differentiate between isotonic and isometric contraction (page 195)

Isotonic contractions (same tone or tension) the myofilaments are successful in their
sliding movements, the muscle shortens, and movement occurs.
Isometric contractions ( same measurement) the myosin myofilaments are spinning
their wheels, and the tension in the muscle keeps increasing. They are trying to slide,
but the muscle is pitted against some more or less immovable object.

4.