Chapter 7

Muscular System

I) Five Primary Functions

1) Movement of skeleton
2) Maintain posture and body position
3) Support soft tissues
4) Guard entrances and exits
5) Maintains body temperature
II) Composition of a Skeletal Muscle
1) Connective tissue organization
a) Epimysium: surrounds entire muscle
− separates it from other tissues/organs.
b) Perimysium: divides muscles into fascicles (bundles of fibers)
− contains blood vessels and nerves.
c) Endomysium: surrounds individual muscle fibers and binds
them together.
d) Tendons: unite each layer of connective tissue into dense
connective tissue at the ends of the muscles
− attaches muscles to bones (intertwined with the
periosteum)
2) Blood Vessels and Nerves
a) Muscles require lots of energy
− Need to bring in nutrients and carry waste away
b) Only contracting under stimulation of the central nervous
system (CNS)
− Skeletal muscles are voluntary
III) Features of Skeletal Muscle
1) Sarcolemma and Transverse Tubules
a) Sarcolemma: Cell membrane of muscle cells, contains
sarcoplasm
b) Transverse Tubules (T tubules): tunnels through a muscle
fiver filled with extracellular fluid
− Help large groups of muscle fibers contract simultaneously
2) Myofibrils: bundles of thick and thin filaments (myofilaments);
surrounded by T tubules
a) Thin filaments = actin
b) Thick filaments = myosin
* These are responsible for muscle contraction
3) Sarcoplasmic Reticulum (SR)
− Specialized type of endoplasmic reticulum
− Contains a high concentration of calcium ions (Ca2+)
− Ca2+ is actively pumped into SR and released just prior to
muscle contraction
4) Sarcomeres: functional unit of myofilaments; smallest unit of a
 muscle fiber; give skeletal muscles a banded (striated)
apperance
a) Z-lines: proteins that form boundaries between sarcomeres
(thin filaments)
b) M-lines: connect thick filaments in the center of the
sarcomere
c) A-band: contains thick filaments, does not change in length
when muscles contract
d) I-band: contains only thing filaments, decreases in length
when muscles contract
5) Thick and Thin Filaments
a) Thin Filaments: have actin molecules with active sites (where
myosin heads may bind)
− At rest, active sites are covered with troponin-tropomyosin
complex
b) Thick Filaments: are made of myosin which have head and tail
regions
− Head attaches to active site during contraction
c) Ca2+ is the key that unlocks the active site; allows binding of
myosin and muscle contraction
6) Sliding filaments and cross-bridges
a) When muscles contract:
− H-band and I-band decrease in length
− Zone of overlap increases
− A-band doesn’t change in length
→ This means that the filaments must be sliding towards
the Z-lines, thick filaments stay stationary, although
heads move/rotate
→ Called the Sliding Filament Theory
b) When myosin heads connect with the active sites, they form
cross-bridges
IV) The Neuromuscular Junction (NMJ)
1) Beginning a contraction at the NMJ
a) Synaptic Terminal: one of many branched endings of a motor
neuron
b) Acetylcholine (ACh): a neurotransmitter (NT) contained within
vesicles at the synaptic terminal
c) Synaptic Cleft: space between the synaptic terminal and the
sarcolemma
d) Motor Endplate: the region of the sarcolemma with ACh
receptors
e) Acetylcholinesterase (AChE): enzyme that breaks down ACh
f) Action Potential (AP): electrical impulse
2) Muscle Stimulation Process
Step 1: AP arrives at synaptic terminal
 Step 2: ACh is released into synaptic cleft
Step 3: ACh binds to receptors on the motor endplate
- Changes permeability of motor endplate to sodium ions
(Na+)
- Na+ rushes into sarcolemma, generating an AP
Step 4: AP spreads over sarcolemma and into T tubules,
triggering a sudden, massive release of Ca2+
Step 5: ACh is broken down by AChE
3) Contraction cycle
− At rest, myosin head has split ATP into ADP and a
phosphate group and stores the energy for later
Step 1: Ca2+ binds to troponin and exposes active site (on actin)
Step 2: Cross-bridge forms between myosin head and active site
Step 3: Cross-bridge pivots, releases ADP and a phosphate group
from myosin head; uses energy stored from breaking
down ATP
Step 4: Cross-bridge detaches and another ATP molecule binds to
myosin
Step 5: ATP is hydrolyzed (split with water)
- This recharges the myosin head
- Can form another cross bridge
→ Go back to step 2 again until there is not enough ATP or Ca2+

V) Muscle Tension
Tension: active force of muscle cells pulling on collagen fibers
Compression: a push applied to an object
- Muscles can only contract (generate tension)
- The amount of tension depends on the number of pivoting cross-
bridges
- Fibers are either “on” or “off”
- Generation of tension varies because:
1) Fiber resting length at the time of stimulation
- Zone of overlap
2) Frequency of stimulation
- Tension of entire muscle depends on:
1) Frequency of stimulation
2) Number of fibers that are activated
A) Frequency of Stimulation
1) Twitch: a single stimulus-contraction-relaxation sequence of a
muscle fiber
2) Myogram: a graph of tension development in a muscle during
a twitch
a) Latent Period: an action potential sweeps the sarcolemma
− Ca2+ are released
− No tension is produced yet
 b) Contraction Phase: tension rises/increases because cross-
bridges are interaction with active sites
c) Relaxation Phase: tension falls as Ca2+ levels drop and
cross-bridges separate
3) Summation and Incomplete Tetanus
a) Summation: addition of one twitch to another before the
relaxation phase ends
− Results in a more powerful contraction
b) Incomplete Tetanus: almost peak tension
− Happens during rapid cycles of contraction and
relaxation
− Nearly all muscles do this
4) Complete Tetanus: rate of stimulation increases until
relaxation is eliminated
− Maximum tension
B) Number of Muscle Fibers Activated
- Smooth movements are achieved by controlling the number
of fibers activated.
1) Motor Unit: All the muscle fibers controlled by a single motor
neuron
a) Smaller motor units allow for finer, more precise
movements
b) Fibers of different motor units are intermingled so that
contractions occur in the same direction, regardless of the
number of motor units stimulated
2) Recruitment: activating more and more motor units over time;
eventually results in complete tetanus.
3) Muscle Tone: Resting tension in a skeletal muscle
- Does not produce movement,
Example: maintaining posture
- Atrophy: weakening and shrinking of muscles due to lack of
use
- Dying fibers are not replaced, functional losses can be
permanent
C) Isotonic and Isometric Contractions
1) Isotonic: equal tension
− Length of the muscle changes
− Example: walking, lifting something, running
2) Isometric: equal length
− Increasing tension cannot be greater than resistance
− Example: pulling or pushing an immoveable object
D) Muscle Elongation
- Combination of three things:
1) Elastic forces – generated when muscles pull on connective
tissues
 − Tissues will recoil
2) Opposing muscle groups – one contracts while the other
relaxes
− Example: biceps and triceps
3) Gravity
− Example: letting biceps relax, forearm will fall and
muscle will relax
VI) ATP (Adenosine TriPhosphate)
A) ATP and CP (Creatine Phosphate) Reserves
1) ATP simply transfers energy, it doesn’t store it
a) Extra ATP gives a phosphate group to creatine and forms
CP
b) CP recharges the ADP (from when myosin split ATP into
ADP and a phosphate group)
c) Creatine Phosphate Kinase (CPK): enzyme that facilitates
the storage of phosphate groups with creatine
2)