Muscular System

Properties of Skeletal Muscle

• All muscle tissue has the following four
properties:
– Irritability (excitability): the muscle can be
stimulated by an electrical impulse
– Contractility: the muscle has the ability to
shorten in response to an electrical stimulus
– Extensibility: the muscle can be stretched
– Elasticity: after being stretched the muscle
will return to its original (resting) length
Muscle Composition and
Architecture
 Basic Muscle Architecture
• The muscle is organized into three
basic levels, each level being
surrounded by its own CT layer:
– Individual muscle fibers are
surrounded by the endomysium
– A muscle bundle, or fascicule, is
surrounded by the perimysium
– All the fascicules collectively make up
the whole muscle, which is
surrounded by the epimysium
Molecular Structure of Muscle

• Muscle fiber
• Myofibril
• Myofilaments
• Myofilament proteins
 The Muscle Fiber

• The muscle fiber is a cell:

– Sarcolemma
– Sarcoplasm
– Organelles, etc.
• Sarcoplasmic reticulum, which stores
Ca2+ (important for muscle contraction) in
the terminal cisternae
• Mitochondria, provide energy to the cell
• Myoglobin, a molecule similar to
hemoglobin which transfers O2 within the
cell
– Associated with the SR are the
transverse tubules (T tubules)
• The SR and T tubules work together to
transmit action potentials (SR parallel, T
tubules perpendicular)
 Myofibrils

• Each muscle fiber is

composed of subunits
called myofibrils
• Each myofibril is
surrounded by SR
• Mitochondria, nuclei,
etc. are packed in
between myofibrils
• 100–1000 myofibrils
per muscle fiber
 Myofilaments

• The myofilaments consist of

proteins forming thick and thin
filaments arranged in an
overlapping pattern
 Thick Myofilament
• Myosin
– Main structural
protein of the thick
filament
– Two strands of
myosin heavy
chains
• Heavy meromyosin
forms the head
regions
• Light meromyosin
forms the tail region
– Four strands of
myosin light chains
• Located in the head
region
• Titin
– Stabilizes myosin
molecules
– Provides elasticity
 Thin Myofilament

• Actin
– Globular protein
(G actin)
– Two chains (F
actin) form the
main structure of
the thin filament
– Contains myosin
binding sites
• Tropomyosin
– Strand of two
coiled polypeptide
chains
– Blocks the
myosin-actin
binding sites in
resting muscle
• Troponin
– Globular protein
embedded on
tropomyosin at
regular intervals
– Highly reactive to
Ca2+
– Ca2+ binding
causes a shift in
tropomyosin,
exposing binding
sites
• Nebulin
– Provides stability
to thin
myofilament
 The Sarcomere

• Z line
– What the thin
filaments are
anchored to
– Defines the ends of
the sarcomere
• M line
– What the thick
filaments are
anchored to
– Defines the middle
of the sarcomere
• I band
– Area containing
only thin filaments
• H zone
– Area containing
only thick filaments
• A band
– Area containing the
overlap of thick and
thin filaments and
the H zone
 Muscle Contraction
• The mechanism of muscle contraction is
referred to as the sliding filament
theory
• The sliding filament theory states that a
muscle shortens because the thick and
thin filaments slide past one another
• The means for the sliding is the cyclical
binding, rotating, and detaching of the
myosin heads with the actin
 The Process of Muscle
Contraction
• The muscle contraction process
consists of three phases:
– Excitation: The muscle is stimulated
by a motor neuron—this triggers the
release of Ca2+ from the SR
– Contraction: The actual contraction of
the muscle
– Relaxation: When nerve stimulation
stops Ca2+ no longer flow from the SR
and contraction ceases
 Excitation

• A nerve impulse
reaches the NMJ
• ACh is released
and binds to
sarcolemma
triggering a
muscle action
potential (MAP)
• The MAP is
propagated into
the muscle fiber
via the T-tubules
• The MAP is
propagated along
the fiber via the SR
• The MAP triggers
release of Ca2+
from the SR
 The Contraction Phase
• At the beginning of the contraction
cycle the myosin head is “cocked” and
the products of ATP hydrolysis (ADP +
Pi) are bound to it
• When Ca2+ is released from the SR it
binds to troponin on the thin filament,
– which causes the tropomyosin to shift,
• exposing the actin-myosin binding sites and
allowing the myosin heads to strongly bind to
actin
• ADP and Pi are released from the
myosin head, allowing the head to
“spring back”
– The rotation of the myosin heads pulls
the thin filament in toward the M line
• A fresh ATP then binds to the
myosin head, breaking the actin-
myosin bond
• The ATP is hydrolyzed, cocking the
myosin head and preparing for
another cycle
 Muscle Fiber Types
• Types of muscle fibers:
– Type I
• a.k.a. slow twitch (ST), slow oxidative
(SO), slow fatigue-resistant (S)
– Type IIa
• a.k.a fast twitch a (FTa), fast oxidative
glycolytic (FOG), fast fatigue resistant
(FR)
– Type IIb (Type IIx)
• a.k.a. fast twitch b (FTb), fast glycolytic
(FG), fast fatiguable (FF)
 Histochemical Staining of Fiber
Type

Type IIb

Type IIa

Type I
 Characteristics of Fiber Types

• Type I
– Slow contracting
– Rely primarily on aerobic energy
production
• Lots of mitochondria
• Lots of aerobic enzymes
• Good blood supply
– Good endurance
– Poor force production
• Type IIb
– Fast contracting
– Rely primarily on anaerobic energy
production
• Lots of anaerobic substrates (ATP, PCr,
glycogen)
• Lots of anaerobic enzymes
• Low blood supply
– Poor endurance
– Good force production
• Type IIa
– Fast contracting
– Use both aerobic and anaerobic
energy production
• Modest amount of mitochondria
• Modest amount of both aerobic and
anaerobic enzymes, as well as anaerobic
substrates
• Good blood supply
– Modest endurance
– Modest force production
 Summary of Fiber Type Characteristics
Fast Fibers Slow fibers
Characteristic Type IIb Type IIa Type I
Number of mitochondria Low High/mod High
Resistance to fatigue Low High/mod High
Predominant energy system Anaerobic Combination Aerobic
Myosin ATPase Highest High Low
Vmax (speed of shortening) Highest Intermediate Low
Lipid content Low Moderate High
Glycogen content High Moderate Low
CK activity Highest High Low
PFK activity Highest High Low
Specific tension High High Moderate
 Fiber Type Distribution
• Average fiber type distribution (vastus
lateralis):
– 50% Type I
– 45% Type II (30% IIa & 15% IIb)
– 5% undetermined
• The fiber type distribution varies from
muscle to muscle:
– Postural muscles tend to be more Type I
– Muscles involved in gross movements
tend to be more Type II
– Others are more evenly distributed
 Muscle Fiber Types and
Physical Activity
• Fiber type distribution among
athletes:
– Endurance athletes
• 80% ST, 20% FT
– Sprint/power athletes
• 30% ST, 70% FT
– Most team sport athletes
• 50% ST, 50% FT
• Q: What is the difference in fiber
type distribution due to?
– Theory #1: Years of training in
endurance or sprint-type exercise
leads to changes in muscle fiber types.
– Theory #2: Genetics determines fiber
type distribution; those who have
“favorable” distributions succeed and
reach elite levels.
• Q: Does fiber type distribution
determine success or failure in
sports?
 Muscle Growth in Girth
• Hyperplasia
– Increased number of muscle fibers
occurs via fusion of myoblasts into
myotubes in the embryonic period
– Further differentiation and hyperplasia
occurs during the fetal period and
possibly for a short period postnatally
– No further hyperplasia seems to occur
after this point
• Hypertrophy
– Increased muscle fiber size
• Due to increased myofibril size
• Due to increased number of myofibrils
– Process is facilitated by muscle
satellite cells
Biomechanics of Skeletal
Muscle
 Structural Classification of
Muscles by Fiber
Arrangement
• Parallel muscles
– Include flat, fusiform,
and strap muscles
– Fibers run parallel to the
long axis of the muscle.
– Characteristics: good
ROM and endurance,
but relatively poor force
production
– Examples: rectus
abdominis (flat), biceps
brachii (fusiform),
sartorius (strap)
• Radiate muscles
– a.k.a. convergent, fan-
shaped, or triangular
– Fibers radiate from a
narrow attachment at
one end to a broad
attachment at the other
– Characteristics: good
force production, but
relatively poor ROM and
endurance
– Examples: pectoralis
major and minor
• Pennate muscles
– Short, parallel fibers
extend at an angle from a
long central tendon
– May be unipennate,
bipennate, or
multipennate.
– Characteristics: excellent
force production, but poor
ROM and endurance
– Examples: forearm
muscles (uni-), rectus
femoris (bi-), deltoid
(multi-)
 Classification of Muscles in
Relationship to Joints
• Uniarticulate
muscles
– Cross only one
joint
– Example: soleus
• Biarticulate
muscles
– Cross two joints
– Example:
gastrocnemius
 Active Insufficiency and
Mechanical Advantage
• Biarticulate muscles often exhibit
paradoxical behavior that can be
explained by the following principles:
– Active insufficiency means that a
biarticulate muscle cannot shorten
enough to cause full ROM at both joints
simultaneously
– Mechanical advantage refers to a lesser
or greater advantage to cause
movement based on the muscle’s line of
pull
Types of Muscle Contractions

• Concentric contraction
– Occurs when the muscle is shortening
during contraction
– Takes place when the muscle force is
greater than any external force
• Eccentric contraction
– Occurs when the muscle is
lengthening during contraction
– Takes place when the muscle force is
less than any external force
• Isometric contraction
– Occurs when the muscle remains the
same length during the contraction
– Takes place when
• The muscle force is equal to some
external force
• Opposing muscle groups contract with
equal force
 Types of Movements

• In any movement there are

generally three possible scenarios:
– The muscle may be contracting to
provide force for a movement
(concentric)
– The muscle may be contracting to resist
or control the movement (eccentric, or,
in some cases, isometric)
– The muscle may be completely relaxed
(passive)
• Observations:
– Performing a movement in which you
move a resistance involves a
concentric contraction of a given
muscle
– Performing a slow, controlled
movement in which a resistance
moves you involves an eccentric
contraction of a given muscle
– Performing a movement in which a
resistance moves you and you do not
try to control the movement is
passive, as it involves no muscle
contraction
– Keeping a resistance in a fixed
position involves an isometric
contraction of a given muscle
 The Role of Muscles in the
Body
• Agonist (mover)
– A muscle that is directly responsible
for causing a movement
• Antagonist (resistor)
– A muscle that has an effect opposite
to that of a given muscle
• Related to agonists/antagonists is
reciprocal inhibition: when an
agonist is stimulated, its
antagonist(s) will be inhibited
• Stabilizer
– A muscle that acts to support some
part of the body against
• The pull of a contracting muscle
• The pull of gravity
• The effect of momentum
 The Muscle Length-Force
Relationship
• There are two
components of the
length-force graph:
– An active tension

Force
which is generated
Active
by the sarcomere Passive

– A passive tension
which is generated
in the elastic
connective tissues
of the muscle as
they are stretched
Resting Length Length
 The Muscle Force-Velocity
Relationship
• If we apply an external force to a
muscle and measure the velocity
of contraction we may note the
following:
– As the load increases, the velocity of
concentric contraction decreases, and
vice versa
– When the load applied is equal to the
maximum force that the muscle can
generate, an isometric contraction
occurs and the velocity is zero
– As the load increases further, the
muscle lengthens eccentrically; as the
load increases the velocity of
eccentric contraction also increases,
and vice versa
 Muscle Force-Velocity
Relationship
Force

Isometric

Eccentric Concentric
0

Velocity
 Muscle Power-Velocity
Relationship
• P = Fv
• Power increases
with velocity to a
point, then
decreases
• Type II fibers
have much higher
peak power than
Type I fibers
 Effects of Temperature on
Contractile Properties
• Isometric force
– Little effect of
temperature on
maximum
isometric force
– Rate of force
increase is
affected, though
• Force-velocity
relationship
– Lower temps
cause reduced
force and velocity
• Power-velocity
relationship
– Low temps cause
decreased max
power
– Max power also
occurs at lower
velocities