The Muscular System

OR EVERYTHING YOU
EVER WANTED TO
KNOW ABOUT
MUSCLES, BUT WERE
AFRAID TO ASK !!!

Did you know that ?

- more than 50% of body weight
is muscle !
- And muscle is made up of
proteins and water

The Muscular System

Muscles are responsible for all movement of the

body
Give shape and form to the body.
There are three basic types of muscle

Skeletal
Cardiac
Smooth

Info About Muscles

Only body tissue able to

contract
create movement by
flexing and extending
joints
Body energy converters
(many muscle cells
contain many
mitochondria)

Myology
Study of muscles.

Mesoderm- embryonic origin of muscles

1.
2.
3.

TYPES OF
MUSCLE
VOLUNTARY MUSCLE
ACCORDING TO
INVOLUNTARY MUSCLE
NERVOUS
CONTROL
CARDIAC (INVOLUNTARY)

MUSCLES

VOLUNTARY
MUSCLE

MUSCLE UNDER THE

CONTROL OF THE
WILL

MORE SENSITVE TO
ELECTRICAL
STIMULATION

EX. ALL SKELETAL

MUSCLE

INVOLUNTARY
MUSCLE
MUSCLES WHICH
ARE NOT UNDER THE
CONTROL OF THE
WILL

MORE SENTIVE TO
CHEMICAL
STIMULATION

EX.MUSCLES OF
DIGESTIVE TRACT

CARDIAC
MUSCLES
MUSCLES OF THE
HEART

Voluntary muscles like gastronemius is made up

of bundles of muscle fibers called fascicles.

Fasciculus is enveloped by a connective tissue,
perymicium which extends to the muscle as the
endomysium w/c separates one,two or three
muscle fibers.

Large sheet-like connective tissue that covers entire

muscles are called fascia, w/c when located at the

surface of the muscle is called superficial fascia and
found inside the muscle is called deep fascia.

Fascia serves as a means by which muscles are attach

and emerge at the end of the muscles either:

Tendon-thick,dense cord or band
Aponeurosisthin and flat

2 POINTS OF W/C MUSCLES ARE ATTACH

POINTS OF ORIGIN- MORE FIXED AND
USUALLY PROXIMAL IN POSITION
2. POINTS OF INSERTION- THE MORE MOVABLE
AND USUALLY DISTALLY-LOCATED.
1.

HEADS- more than one point of origin

SLIPS- more than one more insertion.

SYNERGISTS- concur or agree in actions

Antagonist- Oppose or contradict in action

Action- specific movement os muscles

extensor
STRAIGHTENS A
PART

Extension

FLEXOR
BENDS A PART

Flexion

Hyperextension

ADDUCTOR
BRINGS A PART
TOWARDS THE
MEDIAN LINE

ABDUCTOR
BRINGS A PART AWAY
FROM THE MEDIAN
LANE

Abduction, Adduction & Circumduction

LEVATOR
RAISES A PART

DEPRESSOR
LOWERS A PART

DILATOR
OPENS A PART OR
OPENING

CONSTRICTO
R
CLOSES AN OPENING

ROTATOR
ROTATES A PART

Rotation

More Types of Movement

Inversion- turn sole of foot medially
Eversion- turn sole of foot laterally
Pronation- palm facing down
Supination- palm facing up
Opposition- thumb touches tips of fingers on the

same hand

3 Types of Muscles

Three types of muscle

Skeletal

Cardiac

Smooth

Classification of Muscle
SkeletalCardiacfound in limbs found in heart

SmoothFound in
viscera

Striated, multi- Striated, 1

nucleated
nucleus

Not striated, 1
nucleus

voluntary

involuntary

involuntary

Characteristics of Muscle
Skeletal and smooth muscle are elongated
Muscle cell = muscle fiber
Contraction of a muscle is due to movement of

microfilaments (protein fibers)

All muscles share some terminology

Prefixes myo and mys refer to muscle

Prefix sarco refers to flesh

Shapes of Muscles

Triangular- shoulder, neck

Spindle- arms, legs
Flat- diaphragm, forehead
Circular- mouth, anus

Skeletal Muscle
Most are attached by tendons to bones
Cells have more than one nucleus

(multinucleated)
Striated- have stripes, banding
Voluntary- subject to conscious control
Tendons are mostly made of collagen fibers
Found in the limbs
Produce movement, maintain posture, generate
heat, stabilize joints

Structure of skeletal muscle

Each cell (fibre) is long and cylindrical
Muscle fibres are multi-nucleated
Typically 50-60mm in diameter, and up to 10cm long
The contractile elements of

skeletal muscle cells are

myofibrils

Skeletal muscle - Summary

Voluntary movement

of skeletal parts
Spans joints and
attached to skeleton
Multi-nucleated,
striated, cylindrical
fibres

Smooth Muscle
No striations
Spindle shaped
Single nucleus
Involuntary- no conscious control
Found mainly in the walls of hollow organs

Smooth muscle
Lines walls of viscera
Found in longitudinal or

circular arrangement

Alternate contraction of

circular & longitudinal

muscle in the intestine leads
to peristalsis

Structure of smooth muscle

Spindle shaped uni-nucleated cells

Striations not observed
Actin and myosin filaments are present( protein

fibers)

Smooth muscle - Summary

Found in walls of

hollow internal
organs
Involuntary
movement of internal
organs
Elongated, spindle
shaped fibre with
single nucleus

Cardiac Muscle
Striations
Branching cells
Involuntary
Found only in the heart
Usually has a single nucleus, but can have more than

one

Cardiac muscle
Main muscle of heart
Pumping mass of heart
Critical in humans
Heart muscle cells

behave as one unit

Heart always contracts
its full extent

to

Structure of cardiac muscle

Cardiac muscle cells (fibres) are short,

branched and interconnected

Cells are striated & usually have 1
nucleus
Adjacent cardiac cells are joined via
electrical synapses (gap junctions)
These gap junctions appear as dark lines
and are called intercalated discs

Cardiac muscle - Summary

Found in the heart
Involuntary rhythmic

contraction
Branched, striated
fibre with single
nucleus and
intercalated discs

Muscle Control
Type of
muscle

Nervous
control

Type of
control

Example

Skeletal
Skeletal

Controlled
by CNS

Voluntary

Lifting a
glass

Cardiac

Regulated
by ANS

Involuntary Heart
beating

Smooth

Controlled
by ANS

Involuntary Peristalsis

Types of Responses
Twitch

A single brief contraction

Not a normal muscle function

Tetanus

One contraction immediately followed by another

Muscle never completely returns to a relaxed state
Effects are compounded

Where Does the Energy Come From?

Energy is stored in the muscles in the form of

ATP
ATP comes from the breakdown of glucose
during Cellular Respiration
This all happens in the Mitochondria of the
cell
When a muscle is fatigued (tired) it is unable
to contract because of lack of Oxygen

Exercise and Muscles

Isotonic- muscles shorten and movement occurs

( most normal exercise)

Isometric- tension in muscles increases, no
movement occurs (pushing one hand against the
other)

How are Muscles Attached to Bone?

Origin-attachment to a movable bone

Insertion- attachment to an immovable bone
Muscles are always attached to at least 2 points
Movement is attained due to a muscle moving

an attached bone

Muscle Attachments

Insertion

Origin

The Skeletal Muscles

There are about 650 muscles in
the human body. They enable us
to move, maintain posture and
generate heat. In this section we
will only study a sample of the
major muscles.

Sternocleidomastoideus
FLEXES AND ROTATES
HEAD

Masseter
ELEVATE MANDIBLE

Temporalis
ELEVATE & RETRACT
MANDIBLE

Trapezius
EXTEND HEAD,
ADDUCT, ELEVATE OR
DEPRESS SCAPULA

Latissimus Dorsi
EXTEND, ADDUCT & ROTATE ARM
MEDIALLY

Deltoid
ABDUCT, FLEX &
EXTEND ARM

Pectoralis Major
FLEXES, ADDUCTS & ROTATES
ARM MEDIALLY

Biceps Brachii
FLEXES ELBOW JOINT

Triceps Brachii
EXTEND ELBOW JOINT

Rectus Abdominus
FLEXES ABDOMEN

External Oblique
COMPRESS ABDOMEN

External Intercostals
ELEVATE RIBS

Internal Intercostals
DEPRESS RIBS

Diaphragm
INSPIRATION

Forearm Muscles
Flexor carpiFlexes wrist
Extensor carpiExtends wrist
Flexor digitorumFlexes fingers
Extensor digitorumExtends fingers
PronatorPronates
SupinatorSupinates

Gluteus Maximus

EXTENDS &
ROTATES
THIGH
LATERALLY

Rectus Femoris
FLEXES
THIGH,
EXTENDS
LOWER LEG

Gracilis

ADDUCTS AND FLEXES

THIGH

Sartorius
FLEXES THIGH, &
ROTATES THIGH
LATERALLY

Biceps Femoris
EXTENDS THIGH
& FLEXES
LOWER LEG

Gastrocnemius
PLANTAR
FLEXES FOOT &
FLEX LOWER
LEG

Tibialis Anterior

DORSIFLEXES AND
INVERTS FOOT