MUSCULAR SYSTEM

LESSON 1: MUSCULAR SYSTEM INTRODUCTION

● Muscular contraction generates 85% of our body heat.

● Muscles: protect organs ; Abdominal muscles: keep guts and internal organs in place.
● Some muscles are circular, such as those that encircle your mouth for kissing or puckering.
● Other circular muscles from sphincters that control when you defecate or urinate.
● Diaphragm, an important muscle as it is necessary for breathing.

3 TYPES OF MUSCLE
1. SKELETAL MUSCLE
- Attaches to bones
- It is a voluntary muscle
- Has a striped (striated) appearance.

2. CARDIAC MUSCLE
- Found in the heart
- It is an involuntary muscle
- Striated in appearance.

3. SMOOTH or VISCERAL MUSCLE

- Found in many organs and blood vessels.
- It is an involuntary muscle
- Not striated in appearance.

LESSON 2: MUSCULAR STRUCTURE AND FUNCTIONS

3 LAYERS OF CONNECTIVE TISSUE IN SKELETAL MUSCLE

1. EPIMYSIUM
- Epi - outside or over ; mysium - muscle
- Allows the muscle to contract and move powerfully while maintaining its structural integrity.
- Separates muscle from other tissues and organs.
- Surrounded by Fascia
- A type of connective tissue found around body organs.
- Contains fatty tissue that insulates and protects muscle.
2. PERIMYSIUM
- Peri - around
- The many long muscle fibers are bound by a middle layer of connective tissue in each
fascicle.
- Organized group of muscle fibers.

3. ENDOMYSIUM
- Endo - inside
- Forms a thinner layer than the dense epimysium and perimysium
- Small blood vessels and motor neurons pass through the endomysium to support and activate each
muscle fiber.

● SARCOLEMMA
- The plasma membrane
- Located just under the endomysium of
skeletal muscle fiber.
- The site of action potential conduction
which triggers muscle contraction.
 MUSCLE FIBER ORGANIZATION

1. PARALLEL MUSCLES
- Arranged parallel to the long axis of the muscle
- Equidistant and run in the same direction
- Majority of the skeletal muscles in the body follow this type of organization.
- Some are fusiform and have spindle-shaped fascicles to give the muscle a large belly, such as
the biceps brachii.
- CENTRAL BODY
- The large mass of tissue located in the middle of the muscle
- Common name is Belly
- When the muscle contracts, the contractible fibers shorten into a large bulge.

2. SPHINCTERS or CIRCULAR MUSCLES

- Arranged around an opening in rings.
- When the muscle contracts, the size of sphincter opening will decrease.
- The orbicularis oris muscle
- A circular muscle around the mouth under the lips.

3. CONVERGENT MUSCLES
- The fascicles extend from a broad, fan-shape area, and converge on a single attachment site where
the muscle interacts with a tendon.
- Pectoralis major
- An example of convergent muscle located at the chest.
- The largest muscle in the chest.

4. PENNATE MUSCLES
- Feather-shaped
- Form different fascicle arrangements at an angle to the tendon.
- Contracting pennate muscles pull at an angle and produce high tension, but do not move tendons very
far.
3 SUBTYPES OF PENNATE MUSCLES

1. UNIPENNATE MUSCLES
- The fascicles are located on one side of the tendon.
- Such as the extensor digitorum in the forearm.
2. BIPENNATE MUSCLES
- Has fascicles on both sides of the tendon.
- The rectus femoris in the thigh.
3. MULTIPENNATE MUSCLES
- The diagonal muscle fibers are in multiple rows with the central tendon branching into two or more
tendons.
● TRIANGULAR MUSCLES
- Can be convergent or multipennate to create triangular shapes.
- Includes the trapezius, which extends from the head down the back and out to the shoulder.

MUSCLE FUNCTIONS

● Producing movement ● Stabilizing joints

● Maintaining posture ● Generating heat

SKELETAL MUSCLE MOVEMENT

★ APONEUROSIS
- Bands of connective tissue that attach flat muscles to another muscle or to several bones
- Muscle to muscle ; muscle to bones
★ TENDONS
- Narrow bands of connective tissue that connect muscle to bone.
- Help stabilize the joints.
- Tendon sheath - protects the tendon as it moves
- Calcaneal (Achilles) tendon - visible from heel to the calf
- Bursae - fluid-filled sacs join tendons to reduce friction as it moves.
★ When a muscle contracts, the movement’s force is transmitted through the attachment, which pulls on the bone
to produce skeletal movement.
 PHYSICS: LEVERS AND MOVEMENT
● Each bone is a lever in the body
● Joint is a fulcrum
● Muscles supply the applied force.
● Movement of the skeleton occurs at joints, so there has to be sufficient muscle power to move all the bones.

MUSCLE MOVEMENT AND GROSS ANATOMY

● Skeletal muscles are arranged in pairs for balance and to work efficiently.
● When an agonist contract moves, the corresponding antagonist will be stretched and contracted with sufficient
tension to control the movement.
● For instance, when your biceps muscle acts to flex the forearm, the triceps muscle contracts slightly to prevent
you from flexing the forearm too quickly or too strongly.

AGONIST ANTAGONIST MOVEMENT

BICEPS BRACHII: TRICEPS BRACHII: The biceps brachii flexes the

Located on the anterior surface of Located on the posterior surface forearm, while the triceps brachii
the upper arm. of the upper arm. extends it.

HAMSTRINGS: QUADRICEPS FEMORIS: The hamstrings flex the lower leg.

A group of three muscles located A group of four muscles located The quadriceps femoris extend
on the posterior of the thigh. on the anterior of the thigh. the lower leg.

FLEXOR DIGITORUM The flexor digitorum superficialis

SUPERFICIALIS & FLEXOR EXTENSOR DIGITORUM: and flexor digitorum profundus
DIGITORUM PROFUNDUS: Located in and around the hand flex the fingers and the hand at
Located in and around the hand the wrist while the extensor
digitorum extends the fingers and
the wrist.

GROSS ANATOMY OF MUSCLES.

1. LOCATION
- Some muscle names indicate the bones or body region with which the muscle is associated.
- Ex: the frontalis muscle is located on top of the frontal bone of the skull, the rectus femoris and
brachioradialis.

2. SHAPES
- Muscles with distinctive shapes are often named for the shape.
- Ex: the size of the muscle is the source of the names of the muscle of the buttocks: gluteus maximus
(largest), gluteus medius (medium), and the gluteus minimus (smallest).

3. ORIENTATION
- The direction of the muscle fibers and fascicles relative to the midline is also used to describe muscles.
- Ex: the rectus (straight) abdominal or the internal and external oblique (at an angle) muscles abdomen.

4. NUMBERS IN A GROUP
- Some muscles are named according to the number of muscles.
- Ex: quadriceps is a group of four muscles located on the thigh anterior (front)

5. ACTION
- When muscles are named for the movement they produce, you will find action words in their name.
- Ex: Flexor (decreases the angle at the joint), extensor (increases the angle at the joint), abductor
(moves the bone away from the midline), adductor (moves the bone toward the midline)

6. ATTACHMENTS
- The location of a muscle’s orientation and insertion can also be used in its name.
- For this classification, the origin is always named first.
- Ex: Sternocleidomastoid muscle of the neck has a dual origin on the sternum (Sterno) and clavicle
(cleido), and it inserts on the mastoid process of the temporal bone.
DIFFERENT RELATIVE TO THE MIDLINE OF THE BODY

Rectus Straight Rectus abdominis

Transverse At right angle Transverse abdominis

Oblique Diagonal External oblique

RELATIVE SIZE

Maximus Largest Gluteus maximus

Medius Medium Gluteus medius

Minimus Smallest Gluteus minimus

Longus Long Longus capitis

Brevis Short Extensor carpi radialis brevis

Latissimus Widest Latissimus dorsi

Longissimus Longest Longissimus thoracis

Magnus Large Adductor magnus

Major Larger Rhomboid major

Minor Smaller Rhomboid minor

Vastus Huge Vastus medialis

RELATIVE SHAPE

Deltoid Triangular Deltoid

Trapezius Trapezoidal Trapezius

Serratus Serrated Serratus anterior

Rhomboid Diamond-shaped Rhomboid minor

Orbicularis Circular Orbicularis oris

Pectinate Comb-like Pectineus

Piriformis Pear-shaped Piriformis

Platys Flat Platysma

Quadratus Four-sided and square Quadratus lumborum

Gracilis Slender Gracilis

ACTION

Flexor Decreases the angle at a joint Flexor digitorum superficialis

Extensor Increases the angle at a joint Extensor digitorum

Abductor Moves the bone away from the midline Abductor pollicis longus

Adductor Moves the bone toward the midline Adductor magnus

Levator Elevates a body part Levator scapulae

Depressor Lowers a body part Depressor labii inferioris

Supinator Turns the palm anteriorly Supinator

 Pronator Turns the palm posteriorly Pronator teres

Sphincter Decreases the size of an opening External anal sphincter

Tensor Tenses a body part Tensor fasciae latae

Rotator Rotates a bone around its longitudinal Rotator

axis

NUMBER OF ORIGINS

Biceps Two Biceps brachii

Triceps Three Triceps brachii

Quadriceps Four Quadriceps femoris

LEVEL 3: MUSCULAR LEVELS OF ORGANIZATION

● Molecular level
- Myosin
- A protein that converts the chemical energy stored in the bond of ATP into kinetic energy of
movement.
- The force generating protein in all muscle cells.
- A coordinated effort among many myosin molecules pulling on actin generates force for
movement.

- Actin
- Filaments made of individual rounded (spherical) protein subunits that assemble linearly into
helical (twisted) filaments.
- Slide along the myosin filaments, causing muscle tissue to contract with the help of ATP.

- Tropomyosin
- Acts to block myosin-building sites on the actin filaments
- Prevents cross-bridge formation and contraction in relaxed muscles.

- Calcium
- Triggers muscle contraction by binding to troponin and altering its shape so that tropomyosin
does not block the myosin-binding sites on actin, thus allowing muscle contraction to occur.

- Titin
- Large, a hundred times bigger than other proteins and multifunctional protein
- Helps align the myosin proteins
- Allows the muscle cell to maintain structural integrity by resisting extreme stretching,
preventing damage due to overstretching.

- Dystrophin
- A protein that helps bind actin to the muscle cell membrane
- Poor dystrophin production results in an inability to transfer the force of the organized
actin-myosin contraction to the muscle cell membrane and ultimately to the tendons.

● Microscopic level
- Sarcomere
- Fundamental functional unit of muscle
- One muscle may contain as many as 100,000 of the repeating sarcomere units.
- The myofilaments are organized into parallel units.

- Myofibrils
- Organized structures in muscle cells that contain the actin and myosin.
- If sarcomere contracts, the myofibrils and the muscle cell shorten.

● Cell level - myoblasts and myofibers

● Tissue level - neuromuscular junctions
● Organ level - major skeletal muscles of the body
 CELLULAR ORGANELLES AND STRUCTURE

➔ MUSCLE CELLS
- Have extremely high numbers of mitochondria to produce ATP for force generation
➔ SKELETAL MUSCLE CELLS
- Skeletal muscle fibers
- Each has more than one nucleus called multinucleate.
- Each skeletal muscle fibers is a single muscle cell called skeletal myocyte
- Myo - muscle ; cyte - cell
- Individual myoblasts migrate to different regions in the body, and then fuse to form
myotube.
- A type of syncytium, which is the term used for a group of fused cells
- Hypertrophy
- A process of structural protein are added to muscle fibers.
- Atrophy
- A process when structural proteins are lost, and muscle mass decreases.

➔ CARDIAC MUSCLE CELLS

- Cardiac tissue
- Only found in the chamber walls of the heart
- Provides the muscle contractions required to pump the blood throughout the body.
- Cardiac Muscle
- Striated or striped fibers that are shorter than skeletal muscle fibers.
- Usually contains only one nucleus located in the cell’s central region.
● Intercalated discs
- Part of the sarcolemma and contain 2 structures important in cardiac muscle contraction:
1. Gap junctions
- Tunnels or protein channels in the cell membrane
- Allows ions involved in electric currents to move quickly from one cell to the next.

2. Desmosomes
- Especially strong cell-to-cell junctions
- Help maintain structural integrity between these contractile cardiac muscle cells.

CARDIAC MUSCLE CELLS: CARDIAC CELL SPECIALIZATION

● CONTRACTILE CELLS
- Conduct impulses and are responsible for contractions that pump blood throughout the body.
- 3 types of contractile cells:
1. Skeletal muscle
2. Cardiac muscle
3. Smooth muscle
- Form layers that are usually arranged to run parallel to an organ and other wraps around it.
- Has actin and myosin, but they are not organized into sarcomere, so there are no obvious bands or
striations.
- There is a greater ratio of actin to myosin smooth muscle, meaning that there are more thin filaments
for every thick filament.
- Most smooth muscles are functioning for long periods without rest, so their power output is relatively
low, but contractions can continue without utilizing large amounts of energy.
- Can be stimulated by Pacesetter cells, similar to pacemaker cells and trigger waves of action
potentials in smooth muscle.
- Peristalsis
- Series of involuntary wave-like muscle contractions which move food along the digestive tract.
- When muscle layers contract in turn, causing alternating dilation and contraction or
lengthening and shortening of the organ, moving substances through internal passages.
- Hyperplasia
- Can be observed in the uterus
- Responds to increased estrogen levels by producing more uterine muscle cells.
- Calmodulin
- Binds to calcium and activates myosin cross-bridge formation in smooth muscle.

● PACEMAKER CELLS
- Specialized cells in the upper right atrium
- Natural automaticity generates electrical impulses and spreads across the myocardium in order to
produce a coordinated contraction in systole.
 SKELETAL MUSCLE CARDIAC MUSCLE SMOOTH MUSCLE

LOCATION IN THE Primarily attached to the bones Only in the heart Walls of blood vessels and
BODY visceral organs

CELLULAR Large fibers of multinucleated Mononucleated branched cells Single mononucleated cell with
ANATOMY cells with sarcomere striations with sarcomere striations no striations

OTHER Connective tissues within, Connection to fibers of the Loose connections within a
ANATOMICAL between, and around the fibers heart fascicle
FEATURES

NEUROMUSCULAR JUNCTIONS

1. The action potential travels down the neuron to the presynaptic axon terminal.
2. Voltage dependent calcium channels open, and Ca2+ ions flow from the extracellular fluid into the presynaptic
neuron’s cytosol.
3. The influx of Ca2+ causes neurotransmitter (acetylcholine)-containing vesicles to dock and fuse to the
presynaptic neuron’s cell membrane.
4. Vesicle membrane fusion with the nerve cell membrane results in the neurotransmitter’s emptying into the
synaptic cleft; this process is called exocytosis.
5. Acetylcholine diffuses into the synaptic cleft and binds to the nicotinic acetylcholine receptors in the motor
end-plate.
6. The nicotinic acetylcholine receptors are ligand-gated cation channels and open when bound to
acetylcholine.
7. The receptor opens, allowing sodium ions to flow into the muscle’s cytosol.
8. The electrochemical gradient across the muscle plasma membrane causes a local depolarization of the motor
end-plate.
9. The receptors open, allowing sodium ions to flow into and potassium ions to flow out of the muscle’s cytosol.
10. The electrochemical gradient across the muscle plasma membrane causes a local depolarization of the
motor-end plate.
11. This depolarization initiates an action potential on the muscle fiber cell membrane (sarcolemma) that travels
across the muscle fiber’s surface.
12. The action potentials travel from the surface of the muscle cell along the membrane of T tubules that penetrates
the cell’s cytosol.
13. Action potential along the T tubules cause voltage-dependent calcium release channels in the sarcoplasmic
reticulum to open and release Ca2+ ions from their storage place in the cisternae
14. Ca2+ ions diffuse through the cytoplasm where they bind to troponin, ultimately allowing myosin to interact with
actin in the sarcomere; this sequence of event is called excitation-contraction coupling.
15. As long as ATP and some other nutrients are available, the mechanical events of contraction occur.
16. Meanwhile, back at the neuromuscular junction, acetylcholine has moved off the acetylcholine receptor and is
degraded by the enzyme acetylcholinesterase (into choline and acetate groups), causing termination of the
signal.
17. The choline is recycled back into the presynaptic terminal ,where it is used to synthesize new acetylcholine
molecules.

CELLULAR MUSCLE CONTRACTION

PHOSPHORYLATION OF ANAEROBIC GLYCOLYSIS ANAEROBIC METABOLISM

CREATINE PHOSPHATE

ENERGY SOURCE Creatine phosphate Glucose Glucose, pyruvic acid, fatty

acids

RATE OF ATP Very fast Fast Slow

SYNTHESIS

NUMBER OF ATP’s
PRODUCED PER 1 2 38
UNIT

OXYGEN No No Yes
REQUIRES
● Creatine phosphate
- Phosphagen is a compound that can store energy in its phosphate bonds.
- Can only provide approximately 15 seconds worth of energy, so another energy source must be
available.

● Glycolysis
- An anaerobic process that breaks down glucose to produce ATP
- Cannot generate ATP as quickly as creatine phosphate.
- The sugar used in glycolysis can be provided by blood glucose or by metabolizing glycogen stored in
the muscles.
- Each glucose molecule produces two ATP and two pyruvate molecules, which can be used in aerobic
respiration or converted to lactic acid.
● If oxygen is available, pyruvic acid is used in aerobic respiration. However, if oxygen is not available, pyruvic
acid is converted into lactic acid, contributing to muscle fatigue and pain.
- Lactic acid can cause cellular pH levels to drop, affecting enzyme activity and interfering with muscle
contraction.
● Blood vessels and capillaries are found in the connective tissue surrounding muscle fascicles and fibers, allowing
oxygen and nutrients to be supplied to muscle cells and metabolic waste to be removed.
● Myoglobin
- Binds oxygen similarly to hemoglobin and gives muscle its red color.
- It is found in sarcoplasm.

LESSON 4: MUSCULAR HOMEOSTASIS

● Muscular System Homeostasis

- skeletal muscle contributes to maintaining temperature homeostasis in the body by generating heat.
- Muscle contraction requires energy and produces heat as a byproduct of metabolism.
● Muscle Homeostasis and Growth
- Mature muscle cells grow from hypertrophy, not cell division.
● Muscle and Blood flow
- Endurance training modifies slow fibers to make them more efficient by producing more mitochondria
to enable more aerobic metabolism and more ATP production.
- Endurance exercise can also increase the amount of myoglobin in a cell, as increased aerobic
respiration increases the need for oxygen.
- Endurance training can also trigger more extensive capillary networks around the fiber, a process
called angiogenesis, to supply oxygen and remove metabolic wastes.