The Muscular System: Overview

The muscular system moves our body

parts and maintains our posture
Most skeletal muscles work in pairs
Sacromeres are the contractile units of
muscle
The strength of muscle contraction
depends on the number of motor units
stimulated

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The Muscular System

Continued
The strength of contraction increases if a
muscle is stimulated before it has relaxed
ATP for muscle contraction comes from
many sources
Slow-twitch and fast-twitch muscle cells
differ in contraction speed and duration
Aerobic exercise increases endurance;
resistance exercise builds muscle
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Muscle Cells
There are three types of muscles
Skeletal: attached to bone
Cardiac: found in the heart
Smooth: surrounds hollow structures

All muscles are excitable

Excitable: respond to stimuli

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Skeletal Muscles Work in Pairs

Skeletal muscles are voluntary muscles
(must respond to stimuli) responsible for
moving our body and maintaining posture
Each muscle is attached to a bone by a
tendon (a band of connective tissue)
The origin of the muscle is attached to the
bone that remains stationary during
movement
The insertion is attached to the bone that
moves
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Skeletal Muscles Work in Pairs

Most muscles are arranged in pairs, called
antagonistic pairs, that work in
opposition to one another
Muscles that must contract at the same
time to cause movement are called
synergistic muscles

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Sacromeres
When skeletal muscles are viewed under a
microscope, they have distinct bands
called striations
They are formed by the arrangement of
myofibrils within the muscle cell
Each myofibril contains groups of long
myofilaments
Each myofilament is composed of myosin
(thick) and actin (thin) filaments
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Sacromeres
Sarcomeres are the contractile units of
muscle
Within each sarcomere the actin and
myosin filaments are arranged in a specific
manner
Sarcomeres shorten as the actin filaments
slide along the myosin filaments

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Sacromeres
According to the sliding filament model,
muscle contracts when actin filaments
slide past myosin filaments
The myosin head attaches to the actin
filament forming a cross-bridge
Then it bends and swivels, pulling the actin
filament toward the midline of the cell
The movement of the myosin filament is
powered by ATP
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Rigor Mortis
Muscle contraction will occur as long ATP
is present
Without ATP, cross-bridges cannot be
broken
Within 3 to 4 hours after death, the
muscles become stiff (rigor mortis)
Actin and myosin gradually break down
and muscles relax again after 2 to 3 days

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Neuromuscular Junction
Contraction is triggered when a nerve
impulse travels down a motor neuron until
it reaches the neuromuscular junction
At the neuromuscular junction the neural
impulse allows for the release of
acetylcholine from vesicles in the motor
neuron

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Neuromuscular Junction
The acetylcholine causes changes in the
permeability of the muscle cell, resulting in
an electrochemical message similar to a
nerve impulse
The message travels along the plasma
membrane into the T-tubules and then to
the sarcoplasmic reticulum, releasing
calcium ions to allow for contraction

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Muscular Dystrophy
If too many calcium ions enter the cell,
proteins may be destroyed causing the
death of the cells
Dead muscle cells are replaced by fat and
connective tissue, resulting in muscular
weakness
Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy is one of
the most common forms

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Muscle Contraction
A motor neuron and all the muscle cells it stimulates
are called a motor unit
Muscle contraction depends on the stimulation of
motor units
The strength of muscle contraction depends on the
number of motor units that are stimulated
Muscles responsible for precise, finelycontrolled
movements have small numbers of muscle cells in
each motor unit, in contrast to muscles for less
precise movements

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Muscle Stimulation Increases the Strength of

Contraction
All of the muscle cells innervated by a
single neuron contract at once to cause a
muscle twitch
If a second stimulus is received before the
muscle is fully relaxed, the second twitch
will be stronger than the first, due to wave
summation

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Muscle Stimulation Increases the Strength of

Contraction
Taken to the extreme, a sustained
powerful contraction is called tetanus
Fatigue sets in when a muscle is unable to
contract even when stimulated

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ATP for Muscle Contraction Comes from

Many Sources
The ATP for muscle contraction comes
from many sources
The initial source is the ATP stored in the
muscle cells and then the ATP formed from
the creatine phosphate reserves
When those sources are depleted, the
muscles depend upon stored glycogen
Oxygen dept may result from prolonged
exercise
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Slow-Twitch and Fast-Twitch Muscle Cells

Differ
Slow-twitch cells
Loaded with mitochondria, and therefore
deliver prolonged, strong contractions

Fast-twitch cells
Contract rapidly and powerfully but with
much less endurance
They rely on lactic acid fermentation as their
source of energy, and therefore tire quickly

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Aerobic Exercise; Resistance Exercise

Aerobic exercise
Increases endurance and coordination
E.g., running

Resistance exercise
Builds strength
E.g., weightlifting

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