MUSCULAR SYSTEM – primary purpose of the muscular system is to enable our body movements.

- They make up the bulk of the body and form almost 1/3rd of the body weight.
❖ FUNCTIONS:
1) It helps us maintain posture and body position.
2) It supports soft tissues and internal organs.
3) It helps us maintain our body temperature.
4) It enables all our voluntary movements and involuntary movements
❖ COMPOSITION OF MUSCLE TISSUES
Muscle tissues are soft tissues that comprise of elongated cells, also known as muscle fibers tightly bundled
together. A bundle of skeletal muscle fibers is called a fascicle. A basic rod-like unit of a muscle fiber or cell is called
myofibril that is composed of proteins like actin, myosin, titin etc. Each time the bundles receive signals f rom the
nervous system, they contract causing force and motion.

❖ TYPES OF MUSCLE TISSUES

1) SMOOTH MUSCLES – involuntary muscles.
- They contract slowly and automatically.
- consist of narrow spindle-shaped cells with a single centrally located nucleus.
2) CARDIAC MUSCLES - only found in the heart.
- They are not subject to voluntary control.
- The contractions of cardiac muscles are highly coordinated to pump blood into the circulatory system.
3) SKELETAL MUSCLES - attach to bones and move them voluntarily in response to signals from the nervous
system.
- Sometimes called “striated” muscle
- provide the skeleton with the ability to move.
- help us maintain posture.
- have an abundant supply of blood vessels and nerves.
→ Bones are connected to other bones and muscle fibers via connective tissue such as tendons and ligaments.

→ Muscles keep bones in place and also play a role in the movement of bones.

→ To allow motion, different bones are connected by joints.

→ Cartilage prevents the bone ends from rubbing directly onto each other.

→ Muscles contract to move the bone attached at the joint.

→ Muscles work in pairs.

❖ MAJOR MUSCLES

o DELTOID MUSCLES – Located in each of your shoulders. Your deltoid muscles help you move your shoulders
every which way.
o PECTORALIS MUSCLES - are found on each side of your upper chest. These are usually called pectorals, or pecs,
for short. When many boys hit puberty, their pectoral muscles become larger.
o RECTUS ABDOMINUS – located below pectorals; often called abdominals or “ABS”
o BICEPS MUSCLE – when you contract your biceps muscle, you can actually see it push up under your skin.
o QUADRICEPS (or “QUADS”) - muscles on the front of your thighs; Many people who run, bike, or play sports
develop large, strong quads.
o GLUTEUS MAXIMUS – the muscle that's under the skin and fat in your behind.
DIGESTIVE SYSTEM
→ Responsible for converting food into nutrients that are absorbed and used by the body to keep all its systems
working
→ Responsible for the removal of food that cannot be converted, absorbed, or used by the body
→ DIGESTION- the process that breaks down food into simpler form that the body can use
→ food is digested by a combination of two methods:
o MECHANICAL DIGESTION- involves physical breaking down of food into smaller pieces by
using the teeth to chew or grind food
o CHEMICAL DIGESTION- involves the secretions of enzymes throughout your digestive tract
- Saliva starts off chemical digestion as you chew
- Protein, carbohydrates, and other nutrients in food are broken into small digestible parts and absorbed by
the cells in the intestines
→ Digestion takes place in the digestive tract or alimentary canal
→ ALIMENTARY CANAL – continuous muscular tube that carries food through different parts of the
→ digestive system
→ PARTS OF ALIMENTARY CANAL:
• Mouth – where food starts its journey.
- Teeth are designed for grinding food particles into small pieces and are moistened with saliva before the
tongue pushes the food into the pharynx.
• Pharynx - A fibromuscular y-shaped tube attached to the terminal end of the mouth.
- It is mainly involved in the passage of chewed/crushed food from the mouth through the oesophagus .
• Esophagus - a muscular tube that connects the pharynx, which is a part of an upper section of the
gastrointestinal tract. It supplies swallowed food along with its length.
• Stomach - acts as a storage for the food and provides enough time to digest meals. The stomach also produces
digestive enzymes and hydrochloric acid that maintains the process of digestion.
• Small intestine - a thin, long tube of about 10 feet long and a part of the lower gastrointestinal tract.
- It is present just behind the stomach and acquires a maximum area of the abdominal cavity.
• Large intestine - a thick, long tube measuring around 5 feet in length.
- It is present just beneath the stomach and wraps over the superior and lateral edges of the small intestine.
- It absorbs water and consists of bacteria (symbiotic) that support the breakdown of wastes to fetch small
nutrients.
• Rectum – end of large intestine
- Wastes are eliminated as a solid matter called stool.
- Stool are stored in the rectum as semi-solid feces which later exits from the body through the anal canal
through the process of defecation.

→ ACCESSORY ORGANS - organs which participate in the digestion process but are not actually a part of alimentary
canal or gastrointestinal tract. They stimulate digestion by releasing certain enzymes that help in breaking dow n the
food.
• Pancreas - a large gland present just behind the stomach.
- The pancreas releases digestive enzymes to complete the process of chemical digestion.
• Liver - a roughly triangular, reddish-brown accessory organ of the digestive system located to the right of the
stomach.
- It produces bile, which helps in the digestion of fat in the small intestine.
• Gallbladder - where bile is stored and recycled.
- It is a small, pear-shaped organ which is located just next to the liver.
→ Absorption – process by which nutrient molecules from the food pass through the walls of the digestive organs into
the blood
→ Elimination- materials that are not absorbed are eliminated from the body as wastes

DIGESTIVE PROCESS:

Ingestion ⇒Mixing and Movement ⇒ Secretion ⇒ Digestion ⇒Absorption ⇒Excretion

DISORDERS OF DIGESTIVE SYSTEM

o Vomiting - It is the ejection of stomach contents through the mouth.

o Diarrhea - It is the abnormal watery bowel movement. Prolonged diarrhea eventually leads to dehydration.

o Constipation - A condition in which the feces are clutched within the rectum due to an irregular bowel movement.

o Indigestion - A pain or discomfort in the stomach which is caused when food is not digested properly, resulting in
the feeling of fullness. Indigestion is mainly caused due to inadequate enzyme secretion, food poisoning, anxiety,
overeating and eating spicy foods.