Chapter 8

The Muscular System

I. Structure of a Skeletal Muscle

A. Each muscle is an organ comprised of
a. Skeletal muscle tissue
b. Connective tissue (tendons and ligaments)
c. Nervous tissue
d. Blood
II. Connective Tissue Coverings (pg. 178)
A. Fascia
a. Layers of dense connective tissue that surround and separate each
muscle
b. Extends beyond the ends of the muscle and gives rise to tendons
that are fused to the periosteum of bones
B. Aponeuroses
a. Tendons that are broad sheets of connective tissue
C. Epimysium
a. Layers of connective tissue around each whole muscle
D. Perimysium
a. Surrounds individual muscle bundles (fascicles) within each muscle
E. Endomysium
a. Connective tissue layer that covers each muscle cell
III. Skeletal Muscle Fibers (pg. 179)
A. Each muscle fiber is a single long, cylindrical muscle cell
B. Sarcolemma
a. The cell membrane of a muscle fiber that contains many
mitochondria and nuclei
b. Also called myofibers
c. Myofibrils are contractile fibers within muscle cells
d. Thick filaments of myofibrils are made up of the protein actin
e. The organization of these filaments produces striations
C. Sacromere
a. The structural and functional unit of a myofibril
D. Extends from z line to z line (pg. 180; fig 8.3)
a. I bands (light bands) are made up of actin filaments and are
anchored to z lines
 b. A bands (dark bands) are made up of overlapping thick (myosin) and
thin actin filaments
c. In the center of A bands is an H zone consisting of myosin
filaments only
IV. Neuromuscular Junction
A. The site where the motor neutron and muscle fiber meet
B. A motor neutron is a fiber from a nerve cell that connects to a skeletal
muscle fiber
C. The muscle fiber membrane forms a motor and plate in which the
Sarcolemma is tightly faded and where nuclei and mitochondria are
abundant
D. The cytoplasm of the motor neuron contains numerous mitochondria and
synaptic vesicles storing neurotransmitters
V. Motor Units (Muscles)
A. Made up of a motor neutron and the muscle fibers it controls
B. When simulated all of the muscle fibers of a motor unit contract
simultaneously to form a muscle contraction
VI. Skeletal Muscle Contraction
A. Muscle contractions involve several components that result in the
shortening of sacromeres and the pulling of the muscle against its
attachments
B. Roles of myosin and actin
a. Myosin consists of two twisted strands with globular cross bridges
projected outward along the strand
b. Actin is a globular protein with myosin binding sites
i. Tropomyosin and Troponin are two proteins associated with
the surface of the actin filament
c. Sliding filament theory of muscle contraction:
i. The myosin cross bridge attaches to the binding site on the
actin filament and bends
ii.This pulls the actin filament
iii.It then releases and attaches to eh next binding site on the
actin pulling again
iv.Energy from the convesion of ATP and ADP is provided to
the cross bridges causing the to be in a ‘cocked’ position
VII. Stimulus for Contraction
 A. The motor neuron must release the neurotransmitter acetylcholine from
its synaptic vesicles to the synaptic cleft in the order to initiate a muscle
contraction
B. Protein receptor in the motor end plate detect the neurotransmitter and
a muscle impulse spreads over the surface of the Sarcolemma and into
the T tubules, where it reaches the sarcoplasmic reticulum
a. The sarcoplasmic reticulum and transverse tubules activate the
muscle contraction mechanism when the fiber is stimulated
C. Upon receipt of the muscle impulse, the sarcoplasmic reticulum releases
its stored calcium to the sarcoplasmic of the muscle fiber
D. The high concentration of calcium in the sarcoplasmic interacts with the
tropchin and Tropomyosin molecules which move aside, exposing the
myosin binding sites on the actin filaments
E. Myosin cross-bridges now bind and pull on the actin filaments, causing
the saracomeres to shorten
F. After the nervous impulse has been received, acetycholinesterase rapidly
decomposes the acetylcholine
G. Calcium is returned to the sarcoplasmic reticulum and the linkages
between myosin and actin are broken
VIII. Energy Sources for Concentration
A. Energy for contractions comes from molecules of ATP
B. Creatine phosphate, which stores excess energy released by the
mitochondria, is present to regenerate ATP from ADP and phosphate
C. As ATP decomposes, the energy from creatine phosphate can be
transferred to ADP molecules, converting them back to ADP
IX. Oxygen Supply and Cellular Respiration
A. The early phase of cellular respiration yields few molecules of ATP, so
muscle has a high requirement for oxygen
B. Hemoglobin in red blood cells carries oxygen to muscle
C. Myoglobin is a pigment that stores oxygen in muscle tissue
X. Oxygen Debt
A. During rest or moderate activity, there is enough oxygen to support
aerobic respiration (breathing)
B. Oxygen deficiency may develop during strenuous exercise, and latic acid
accumulates as an end product of an aerobic respiration N.
C. Oxygen debt refers to the amount of oxygen that liver cells require to
convert the accumulated lactic acid into glucose, plus the amount that
 muscle needs to resynthesize ATP and creatine phosphate to their
original concentrations
D. Repaying oxygen debt may take several hours
XI. Muscle Fatigue
A. When a muscle loses its ability to contract during strenuous exercise
B. Usually arises from the accumulation of lactic acid prevents the
muscle from contracting
C. A muscle cramp occurs due to a lack of ATP required to return
calcium ions back to the sarcoplasmic reticulum so muscle fibers can
relax
XII. Heat Production
A. Muscular contractions represent and important source of heat for the
body