Lec.8 Muscles Physiology Dr.

Thaer
The muscles are excitable cells; they are machines to convert the chemical
energy to mechanical energy.It differs from the nervous system by the fact
that it has a contractile mechanism which is activated by adenosine
phosphate .
The muscle can be excited electrically, mechanically, chemically → action
potential (A.p.).
Types of muscle:

Skeletal muscles: These are voluntary muscles attach to bone.

Smooth muscles: Involuntary muscle. It is Muscle of the viscera (e.g., in walls of
blood vessels, intestine, & other 'hollow' structures and organs in the body).
Cardiac muscles: Muscle of the heart. Involuntary.
Properties of muscle:
1-excitability - responds to stimuli (e.g., nervous impulses)
2-contractility - able to shorten in length
3-extensibility - stretches when pulled
4-elasticity - tends to return to original shape & length after contraction or
extension
Functions of muscle:
1-Body movement
2-Maintenance of posture
3-Heat production
4-Respiration
5-Communication
 Nerve and Blood Vessel Supply

• Motor neurons
– stimulate muscle fibers to contract
– Neuron axons branch so that each muscle fiber (muscle cell) is innervated
– Form a neuromuscular junction (= myoneural junction)
• Capillary beds surround muscle fibers
– Muscles require large amounts of energy
– Extensive vascular network delivers necessary oxygen and nutrients and
carries away metabolic waste produced by muscle fibers
 The Skeletal Muscle
It is that type of the muscles that is attached to bones & moves skeleton, also
called striated muscle.
• Composed of muscle cells (fibers),
connective tissue, blood vessels, nerves
• Fibers are long, cylindrical, and
multinucleated
• Tend to be smaller diameter in small
muscles and larger in large muscles. 1
mm- 4 cm in length
• Develop from myoblasts; numbers
remain constant
• Striated appearance
• Nuclei are peripherally located
Microanatomy of Skeletal Muscle
 Muscle Fiber Anatomy

• Sarcolemma - cell membrane

– Surrounds the sarcoplasm (cytoplasm of fiber)
• Contains many of the same organelles seen in other cells
– Punctuated by openings called the transverse tubules (T-tubules)
• Narrow tubes that extend into the sarcoplasm at right angles to the surface
• Filled with extracellular fluid
• Myofibrils -cylindrical structures within muscle fiber
– Are bundles of protein filaments (=myofilaments)
• Two types of myofilaments
1. Actin filaments (thin filaments)
2. Myosin filaments (thick filaments)
– At each end of the fiber, myofibrils are anchored to the inner surface of the sarcolemma
– When myofibril shortens, muscle shortens (contracts)
• Thin Filament: composed of 3 major
proteins
1. F (fibrous) actin
2. Tropomyosin Actin (Thin)
3. Troponin
• Two strands of fibrous (F) actin form a
double helix extending the length of
Myofilaments
the myofilament; attached at either
end at sarcomere.
– Composed of G actin monomers
each of which has a myosin-binding
site (see yellow dot)
– Actin site can bind myosin during
muscle contraction.
• Tropomyosin: an elongated protein
winds along the groove of the F actin
double helix.
• Troponin is composed of three
subunits:
– Tn-A : binds to actin
– Tn-T :binds to tropomyosin,
– Tn-C :binds to calcium ions.
Now, putting it all together to perform the function of muscle: Contraction
Z line Z line
Sarcomere Relaxed
Sarcomere Partially Contracted
Sarcomere Completely Contracted
• Sarcotubular System
Sarcotubular system of membranous structures in the form of vesicles and
tubules in the Sarcoplasm of the muscle fiber. It surrounds the myofibrils
embedded in the Sarcoplasm
The Sarcotubular system is formed mainly by two types of structure:
1. “T” tubules
2. “L” tubules of Sarcoplasmic reticulum