Introduction to The Muscular System

Muscles are the largest soft tissues of the musculoskeletal system.

Muscle is derived from the Latin word “musculus” meaning “little
mouse”. The muscle cell, muscle fiber, contains protein filaments
of actin and myosin that slide past one another, producing
contractions that move body parts, including internal organs.
Associated connective tissue binds muscle fibers into fascicles or
bundles, and these associated connective tissues also convey
nerve fibres and blood vessels (capillaries) to the muscle cells.
Muscle tissue has four main properties:

Excitability - ability to respond to stimuli;

Contractibility - ability to contract;
Extensibility - ability of a muscle to be stretched without
tearing;
Elasticity - ability to return to its normal shape.
Through contraction, the muscular system performs the
following important functions: production of force and
movement, supporting of the body, changing of body
posture, stability of joints, production of body heat (to
maintain normal body temperature), as well as, provision
of form to the body.
Although muscles produce heat energy, they
also require energy to perform their functions.
Muscles are predominantly powered by the
oxidation of fats and carbohydrates, but
anaerobic chemical reactions are also used.
These chemical reactions produce adenosine
triphosphate (ATP) molecules that are used up
by myosin filaments during muscle
contractions.
The muscle tissue contracts in order to produce movement of the body parts. There are three types: skeletal, smooth and
cardiac muscle tissue.
There are three types of
muscles. They are the:

-Skeletal muscles, which

move bones and other
structures (e.g. the eyes)
-Cardiac muscles, which form
most of the walls of the
heart and adjacent great
vessels, such as the aorta
-Smooth or Visceral muscles,
which form part of the walls
of most vessels and hollow
organs, move substances
through viscera such as the
intestine, and control
movement through blood
vessels
Cardiac muscle, that composes the muscular layer (myocardium) of the heart.
Part of the boundary membranes of adjacent cardiac muscle cells make very elaborate interdigitations (branchings) with
one another under microscopic examination. This broadness, and the interdigitations of the cardiac muscle increase its
surface area for impulse conduction. The muscle cells are arranged in whorls and spirals; each chamber of the heart
empties by mass contraction, not peristalsis.
Smooth muscle
The cell (fibre) of a smooth muscle has one nucleus like most body cells.
Smooth muscle consists of narrow spindle-shaped cells usually lying parallel.
In hollow organs undergo peristalsis (anterograde directional movement),
they are arranged in longitudinal and circular fashion, e.g., as in the
alimentary canal and ureter. Contractile impulses are transmitted from one
muscle cell to another at specialized sites called nexuses (or gap junctions),
where adjacent cell membranes lie unusually close together.
Function of Muscle
Whether it is the largest muscle in your body or the tiny
muscle controlling the movement of your eye, every
muscle functions in a similar manner. A signal is sent from
the brain along a bundle of nerves. The electronic and
chemical message is passed quickly from nerve cell to
nerve cell and finally arrives at the motor end plate. This
interface between the muscle and nerve cells releases a
chemical signal, acetylcholine, which tells the muscle fiber
to contract. This message is distributed to all the cells in
the fiber connected to the nerve.
This signal causes the myosin
proteins to grab onto the actin
filaments around them. These are
the purple proteins in the image
below. Myosin uses ATP as an
energy source to crawl along the
green filament, actin. As you can
see, the many small heads of the
myosin fibers crawling along the
actin filaments effectively shortens
the length of each muscle cell. The
cells, which are connected end-to-
end in a long fibers, contract at the
same time and shorten the whole
fiber. When a signal is sent to an
entire muscle or group of muscles,
the resulting contraction results in
movement or force being applied.
Most muscles are covered by a band of connective tissue called fascia, that supports the muscle.
Each skeletal muscle fiber is a single cylindrical muscle
cell. An individual skeletal muscle may be made up of
hundreds, or even thousands, of muscle fibers
bundled together and wrapped in a connective tissue
covering. Each muscle is surrounded by a connective
tissue sheath called the epimysium. Fascia that is a
connective tissue outside the epimysium, surrounds
and separates the muscles.. Each bundle of muscle
fiber is called a fasciculus and is surrounded by a layer
of connective tissue called the perimysium. Within
the fasciculus, each individual muscle cell, called a
muscle fiber, is surrounded by connective tissue called
the endomysium.
Skeletal muscle cells (fibers), like other body cells, are
soft and fragile. The connective tissue covering furnish
support and protection for the delicate cells and allow
them to withstand the forces of contraction. The
coverings also provide pathways for the passage of
blood vessels and nerves.
Commonly, the epimysium, perimysium, and
endomysium extend beyond the fleshy part of the
muscle, the belly , to form a thick ropelike tendon or a
broad, flat sheet-like aponeurosis. The tendon and
aponeurosis form indirect attachments from muscles
to the periosteum of bones or to the connective tissue
of other muscles.
The prime mover, sometimes called the agonist, is the muscle that provides the primary force
driving the action. An antagonist muscle is in opposition to a prime mover in that it provides
some resistance and/or reverses a given movement.
Key points about the muscular system

Types of muscles and their location Skeletal muscle: All muscles attached to the skeleton
Smooth muscle: Muscular layer of blood vessels, gastrointestinal tract,
urinary tract, reproductive tract, respiratory tract, arrector pili muscle of
hair, ciliary muscle, and sphincter pupillae muscle of iris
Cardiac muscle: Muscular layer of heart (myocardium)

Main skeletal muscles of the body Muscles of the head and neck: Orbicularis oculi, orbicularis oris,
masseter, sternocleidomastoid and platysma muscle
Muscles of the trunk: Pectoralis major, intercostal muscles, serratus
anterior, rectus abdominis, trapezius, erector spinae, latissimus dorsi
muscles
Muscles of the upper limb: Deltoid, biceps brachii, triceps brachii,
brachioradialis, flexor digitorum superficialis, extensor digitorum and
dorsal interossei muscles of hand
Muscles of the lower limb: Gluteus maximus, tensor fasciae latae,
quadriceps femoris, biceps femoris, adductor magnus, tibialis anterior,
extensor digitorum longus, triceps surae, dorsal interossei muscles of foot