MUSCULAR SYSTEM

Supply

force for movement

Acts in conjunction with the skeletal system

Act

upon the viscera

The heart, the stomach, even the sphincters

(e.g. urinary sphincters) pulse/contract/expand
due to muscular activity
Heat

production

Heat is a by-product of muscle contraction

Shivering due to cold generates heat due to
muscles contracting

Terms
SarcolemmaThe

cell membrane of a

muscle cell.
Sarcoplasm The cytoplasm within the
muscle cell.
Sarcoplasmic reticulum The
membranous network of channels and
tubules within the muscle fiber,
corresponding to the endoplasmic
reticulum of other cells.
Myotome a group of muscles that a
single spinal nerve innervates

Muscle organization
According to location
Somatic

muscles (axial and appendicular)

Operate head, trunk, limbs

Locomotion and orientation

Visceral

muscles (branchiomeric, smooth,

cardiac)
Operate visceral skeleton
Digestion and respiratory movements

Muscle organization
According to nervous system control
Voluntary muscles
Under immediate conscious control
E.g. the limbs you control your arms to
lift things up and your legs to walk

Involuntary

muscles

Not under immediate conscious control

The heart and stomach

Muscle organization
According to general microscopic
appearance
Skeletal muscles
Attaches to bone; voluntary
Has striations
Cardiac

muscles

Heart; involuntary
Has striations and intercalated disks
Smooth

muscles

Involuntary; no striations
Ex. Intestine & stomach

The Skeletal Muscle

With cross bands and

striations
Each skeletal muscle cell is
multinucleate and made
up of:

Myofilaments - filaments
that compose the sarcomere;
actin and myosin

Sarcomeres structural and

functional unit of a myofibril;
made up of myofilaments

Myofibrils long units

composing each skeletal
muscle cell; contractile fibers
within a muscle cell

The Skeletal Muscle

The Skeletal Muscle

The Skeletal Muscle

Axial

Trunk and tail

Appendicular

Insert on girdles, fins, or limbs

Branchiomerics

Head and neck

The Skeletal Muscle

Naming system:
Fiber

direction oblique, rectus

Location or position supraspinatus,
superficial
Number of subdivisions triceps
Shape deltoid, serratus
Origin or insertion xiphihumeralis,
stapedius
Action levator scapulae, adductor femoris
Size major, minor, longissimus

The Cardiac Muscle

The Smooth Muscle

Tendons

Connective

tissue forming
cordlike
attachment to
bones
Flat, tough sheets
of connective
tissue are
aponeuroses
If wrapping body
parts together,
they are fascia

Tendons
Distribute

forces for
precise movement
Transmission of forces
from one point to
another
Tendons

require little
maintenance and
consume little energy
compared to muscles

Muscle Contraction
At

rest, no nervous stimulation

At

stimulation, contraction happens

and tensile force is generated. This
is the active state.
The bone to which the muscle is attached
and the mass that must be moved is called
load

Muscle Contraction
Sliding

mechanism
filaments slip
and slide past one
another to shorten
the muscle

Muscles

do not
lengthen to push
apart their sites of
attachment

Muscle Fibers
Color
Muscles made of red fibers are rich in
myoglobin. Resistant to fatigue
White

muscle fibers have low

myoglobin but contract rapidly

Muscle Fibers
Ability to sustain force
Tonic

low force, slow contraction but

for prolonged periods
Posture support
Rare in mammals (eye and middle ear)

Twitch

fast contraction

Somatic muscles

(a)

Bone-Muscle Lever
Systems

If inserted near
(proximal) point of
rotation, favors speed

If

inserted distal to
point of rotation,
favors strength

(b)

Proximal insertion
also favors greater
excursion of the distal
end of the part
rotated

Bone-Muscle Lever
Systems

Muscle Action
Origin

point
of attachment
Insertion
movable point
of attachment
E.g. the
latissimus dorsi
origin is the
torso, insertion is
the arm

Muscle Action
Synergists

Act together to produce

motion in the same
general direction
Ex. Biceps brachii and
brachialis on upper arm
Antagonists

Agonists
Produce opposing
motions
Biceps brachii and
triceps brachii

Muscle Action

Muscle Action
NAME

ACTION

EXAMPLE

FLEXOR
EXTENSOR

Decrease angle at a joint

Flexor Carpi Radialis

Increase angle at a joint

Extensor Carpi Ulnaris

ABDUCTOR

Move bone away from

midline

Abductor Pollicis Longus

ADDUCTOR
LEVATOR

Move bone toward midline

Adductor Longus

Produce upward movement

Levator Scapulae

DEPRESSOR

Produce downward
movement

Depressor Labii Inferioris

SUPINATOR

Turn palm upward/anterior

Supinator

PRONATOR

Turn palm
downward/posterior

Pronator Teres

Embryonic Origin
Mesenchyme

smooth muscles in
blood vessels, viscera

Hypomere

smooth
muscle layers of the
alimentary tract

Embryonic Origin
Paraxial

mesoderm
Trunk: forms
somites
Head: mesoderm
clusters called
somitomeres that
form head and
pharyngeal
muscles

Embryonic Origin
Appendicular

Musculature

Form from myotomes in fishes

In amniotes, from mesenchyme cells
shed from the ventral tips of
myotomes, rather than from the
myotomes

Embryonic Origin
Axial Musculature
Epaxial
Dorsal to horizontal
septum (a longitudinal
sheet of connective
tissue that divide
myotomes into dorsal
and ventral regions)
Hypaxial

Ventral to horizontal
septum

Embryonic Origin
Cranial Musculature from the paraxial
mesoderm
Hypobranchial trunk myotomes; supplied
by spinal nerves. Form between gill arches,
as well as part of the tongue
Branchiomeric

somitomeres in head; jaw

and pharyngeal muscles, supplied by cranial
nerves

Extrinsic

eye muscles - somitomeres

COMPARATIVE
ANATOMY:
Postcranial Musculature

Axial Musculature
Fishes
Embryonic and
segmental
myotomes
As an adult,
segmented
myotomes are
termed
myomeres,
separated by
myosepta

Axial Musculature
Fishes
Supplies the major propulsive
forces for locomotion, constituting
the bulk of the body musculature
The vertebral column or notochord
act as compression girder to keep
fish from telescoping
The body increasingly bends
toward the tail
Acceleration of the tail is greater
than that of the sections near the
head; thus, greater force in tail

Axial Musculature
Amphibians

Epaxials above
transverse process
Hypaxials along body
wall proper
In salamanders, axial
musculature is
prominent; in frogs, the
appendicular
musculature of hindlimb
is large and axial
reduced in prominence

Salamander axial
musculature. Note that
the dorsalis trunci is not
differentiated

Epaxials
Axial Musculature

Reptiles
Lost or indistinct
septum
Limbs more
important in
propulsion

Transversospinalis
Longissimus
iliocostalis

Axial Musculature
Hypaxial
Dorso-medial beneath
vertebral column, aids in
moving neck
Medial along the inside
of rib cage
Lateral outside rib
cage
Ventral along the belly;
to the pelvis
> Hypaxials associated
more with breathing; also
aids in moving trunk

In

turtles, hypaxial
muscles are reduced
or lost. Why?
In

snakes, axial
musculature is
prominently
developed

Axial Musculature
Birds

Divisions same as reptiles, though

reduced
Mammals

Absence of ribs changes segmental

intercostals (outside rib cage in
reptiles) into continuous sheets of
obliques

Axial Musculature

Appendicular Muscles
Fishes

Extension from girdle to pterygiophores

Dorsal muscles elevate fin

Ventral muscles adduct or depress the fin
Relatively light musculature compared to axial

Appendicular Muscles
Tetrapods
The appendicular muscles take on more
responsibility for locomotion and account for
more muscle bulk
These

muscle masses tend to split and

divide, adding to the complexity of the adult
limb musculature
Musculature varies depending on
specialization
Frogs for leaping
Birds for flight

Appendicular Muscles

The

muscular sling of mammals. Appendicular muscles of the forelimbs

suspend the anterior body from the shoulders. Some of these muscles arise
from axial muscles (rhomboideus, serratus ventralis), some from branchial
muscles (trapezius), and some from the forelimb musculature itself
(pectoralis).

Appendicular Muscles
Pectoral Girdle and Forelimb
Branchiomeric

trapezius and mastoid

Axial

muscles levator scapulae,

rhomboideus complex, serratus
Along with trapezius, form the muscular sling that
suspends the body between two scapular blades,
with the exception of turtles

Appendicular Muscles
Pectoral Girdle and Forelimb
Dorsal

limb muscles inserted on the

humerus, function to oscillate it during
movement or fix it in position.
Includes latissimus dorsi, teres major and teres minor,
triceps
Dorsal muscles form most of the extensor musculature

Ventral

limb muscles

Pectoralis from sternum to humerus

Coracobrachialis from coracoid
Biceps brachii inserted on forearm,
Ventral muscles as flexors

Appendicular Muscles

Appendicular Muscles

Appendicular Muscles
Pelvic Girdle and Hindlimb
Dorsal

muscles

Puboischiofemoralis internus (lower tetrapods) /

psoas, pectineus, iliacus (hip bone muscles) limb
rotators
Quadriceps: rectus femoris, vastus
lateralis/medialis/intermedius shank extensors
Sartorius origin on ilium, inserts on the tibia.
Longest muscle in the human body. Flexor/abductor
of hip, flexor of knee

Appendicular Muscles
Pelvic Girdle and Hindlimb
Ventral

Muscles

Puboischiofemoralis externus (lower tetrapods) /

obturator externus, quadratus femoris - hip to femur
Hamstrings: semimembranosus, semitendinosus,
biceps femoris from pelvis, inserts into shank or
distal femur. Flex the shank
Gastrocnemius most prominent muscle of the
shank, a flexor

Appendicular Muscles

Appendicular Muscles
Anurans

limbs activated by contraction of

powerful hindlimb extensors. At the end of a
leap, the pectoral girdle and forearm absorb
the blow

In

cursorial tetrapods, appendicular muscles

are bunched proximally near the trunk, with
tendons distributing forces distally. This
reduces the mass carried by the limb itself

Appendicular Muscles
Birds
Axial

musculature not so prominent

The fusion of the synsacrum and innominate
bone reduces the requirement of axial muscles
to firm up the vertebral column
Pelvic

girdle/hindlimb musculature differentiated

Hindlimbs catch and balance body when landing

Proximal bunching of muscles keeps mass close to body
midline
Long tendons reach the toes, important for perching
birds

Appendicular Muscles
Birds
Pectoral

girdle and forelimb

Wing muscles bunch proximally

Pectoralis provides powerful
downstroke
Supracoracoideus is a wing elevator
Patagium is drawn taut when
gliding; the muscle is patagialis,
and extends via a long tendon to the
wrist. If this is damaged, the wing
become useless
Forearm muscles are small but
numerous

COMPARATIVE
ANATOMY:
Cranial Musculature

Branchiomerics
Arises

from lateral
mesoderm
Mandibular (1st)
arch
Hyoid arch
Arches IV to VI

Branchiomeric Muscles

Branchiomeric muscles and their innervations

Branchiomerics
Mandibular

(1st) arch
Intermandibularis - digastic
Adductor mandibulae - masseter,
temporalis
Hyoid arch
Sphincter coli
Platysma and mimetics
integumentary muscles
Arches IV to VI
Trapezius, sternomastoid,
cleidomastoid
Figure 10.14. Branchiomeric muscles
of gnathostomes.

Nerves Innervating
Muscles

Facial nerves to muscles.

Extrinsic Eye Muscles

Six

eyeball
muscles
2 obliques
Superior and inferior
on anterior portion

4 rectus
Arise in posterior
portion of orbit
Innervated by
oculomotor,
trochlear, and
abducens

Figure 10.17. Innervation of eye

muscle in embryo.

Extrinsic Eye Muscles

Figure 10.18. Dorsal view of

extrinsic muscles of the left eyeball
.

Figure 10.19. Lateral view of

extrinsic muscles of eyeball.

Diaphragm
Mammalian

muscle structure
Near lungs and heart in abdominal
cavity

Figure 10.20. Human diaphragm.

Dermal or Integumentary
Muscles
Fish

& tailed
amphibians- skin is
firmly attached to
musculature
Sphincter coli- first
muscle to move skin
Subdivides down
neck- platysma
Extrinsic

and
intrinsic muscle

Figure 10.21. Evolution of mammalian

facial muscles. Shows sphincter colli
(SC) spreading into platysma (P).

Extrinsic Integumentary Muscles

Costocutaneous

muscles - allows rectilinear

motion (reptiles)
Panniculus carnosus - sheet surrounds body
Cutaneous maximus - to shake skin (higher
mammals)
Patagial muscles - bat wings
Auricularis - moves human ear
Caninus muscle - arises with aggression

Intrinsic Integumentary Muscles

Arrectores

plumarum (birds) & arrectores

pilorum (mammals) - erects hair and feathers

Specialized Muscles
Electric

organs

In elasmobranchs and bony

fish
Modified hypaxial muscles

Figure 10.22. Electric eel.

Electric

organs
generate
electricity
Prey paralysis
Protection from
predators
Generate
electric field (for
navigation)

Vertebrates with Electric Organs

Figure 10.23. (book figure

10.1).