Exercise 14: Anatomy and Organization of Skeletal Muscle A. Muscle fibers: a.

Myofibrils- small fibers that alternate light(I) band and dark (A) bands and make up the fibers as a whole; light & dark bands line up along myofibrils to give striated appearance b. Myofiliment- small thread like structures that make up the myofibrils; made up of contractile proteins actin and myosin B. Muscle cells: a. Actin/Myosin- contractile proteins that slide past one another during muscle activity to cause shortening or lengthening of the muscle cells b. Sarcomeres- the actual contractile units; reach from the middle of one I band (the Z disc) to the middle of the next i. Z-disc- where sarcomeres meet ii. M line- middle of sarcomere, no actin iii. I band- light, thin filaments (actin) iv. A band- dark, thick filaments (myosin) C. Network of internal membranes: allow the electrical message from the outside of the muscle to communicate with the inside of the muscle and all along the myofibril, causing the muscle to contract. a. Sarcoplasmic Reticulum (SR) - smooth endoplasmic reticulum, does not open to the outside and runs parallel along myofibrils; contains INTRAcellular fluid;
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stores and releases Ca2+ ions that trigger muscle contraction b. Transverse Tubule (T-tubule) part of the cell membrane that extends deep inside the fiber at junction of I and A bands, opens to the outside and runs perpendicular to the myofibrils; contains EXTRAcellular fluid c. Terminal Cisternae- sac-like vesicles on each side of the transverse tubule, cross channels of SR D. Organization of Skeletal Cells into Muscle a. Endomysium- encloses each muscle fiber b. Perimysium- surrounds several muscle fibers and encloses them into a bundle called a Fascicle or Fasciculusc. Epimysium- dense connective tissue that surrounds the fascicles that comprise the entire muscle; blends into the deep fascia d. Deep Fascia- course dense connective tissue that binds muscles into functional groups & into tendons/aponeuroses e. Tendons/Aponeuroses- attach muscles to each other or indirectly to bones E. Neuromuscular junction junction between nerve fiber (axon) & muscle cell: a. Motor unit- a neuron and all the muscle cells it stimulates b. Synaptic cleft- a small fluid filled gap b/t the neuron and the muscle cell membranes c. Axon terminal- part of the neuron that is in close contact with the muscle cell d. Neurotransmitter- substance released from the axon terminal onto the muscle cell;
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acetylcholine is neurotransmitter involved in the neuromuscular junction Exercise 15: Gross Anatomy of Skeletal Muscles A. Vocabulary a. Origin- the stationary, immovable or less movable point b. Insertion- the moveable attachment; the insertion is pulled closer to the origin during movement. c. Flexion- movement that decreases the angle of the joint; typical of hinge joints (knee or elbow) or at ball and socket joints (hip) d. Extension- movement that increases the angle of the joint; opposite of flexion; ex: straightening knee or elbow e. Abduction- movement of limbs away from the midline or the fanning movement of toes or fingers when they are spread apart f. Adduction- movement of the limb toward the midline; opposite of abduction g. Supination- to turn or rotate (the hand or forearm) so that the palm faces up or forward or to turn or rotate (the foot) by adduction and inversion so that the outer edge of the sole bears the body's weight. Exercise 16B: Skeletal Muscle Physiology A. Events that lead to muscle contraction i. Action potential triggers acetylcholine to be released from the axon terminal ii. Acetylcholine causes the resting membrane potential to change, and this then initiates
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an action potential that spreads inside the muscle fiber via the transverse tubule 2+ iii. The sarcoplasmic reticulum releases Ca ions, Ca2+ release frees binding sites on actin iv. Sliding Power-stroke : 1. ATP is hydrolyzed on myosin head to allow myosin head binding to actin 2. Actin and myosin slide past one another toward the M line and contraction occurs B. Vocabulary 1. Three Phases of Muscle Contraction i. Latent Phase- short period b/t stimulation & start of contraction - no force on muscle yet - chemical changes occurring in cell ii. Contraction Phase- sliding powerstroke, causing muscle to shorten iii. Relaxation Phase normal resting state after contraction ends 2. Threshold Stimulus- specific point in membrane voltage that once reached during depolarization will trigger an action potential (all or none) 3. Subthreshold Stimulus- a stimulus too weak to evoke an action potential 4. Maximal Stimulus- maximum force of the contraction

Ways to Increase the force of muscle contraction:

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1.

Multiple Motor Unit Summation (Recruitment)process by which the strength of the contraction reflects the number of stimulated muscle cells i.e., increased force of contraction = more activated motor units, less force = fewer motor units Treppe- warming up of the muscle; when a muscle cell is stimulated in rapid succession at the same intensity after the muscle is allowed to fully relax between stimuli, then the strength of the contraction increases even though there is no increase in stimulus; looks like a staircase when plotted on graph

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Wave or Temporal Summation - if a muscle cell is stimulated in rapid succession at the same intensity before complete relaxation is allowed to occur then the strength of the contraction will increase - extreme wave summation is called tetanus; plotted on a graph as solid line b/c peaks fuse.
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- Tonus- muscular tone - Tetanus- fusion of twitches due to muscle stimulation at a high frequency causing a steady, sustained contraction.