The Muscular System

- Muscles are responsible for all types of body movement. They contract or
shorten and are the machine of the body.

Three basic muscle types

- Skeletal muscle
- Cardiac muscle
- Smooth muscle

Function of the muscles

- support the body

- allow movement by making bones and other body parts move
- maintain constant body temperature
- assist in movement of cardiovascular vein and lymph
- protect internal organs and stabilize joints

Organization of skeletal muscle

● Fascicles - bundle of muscle fiber

● Muscle fiber - muscle cell
● Sarcomere - contractile unit of a muscular fiber
● Myofibrils - structure that makes up muscle fiber
● Actin - thin filaments
● Myosin - thick filaments

Skeletal muscles are organs

They contain muscle fibers, nerves, and blood vessels. Connective tissue
membranes separate each muscle structure.

Fascia
- Layer of fibrous tissue that separates muscles from each other from the skin

Coverings from largest to smallest

- Epimysium, perimysium, endomysium

Epimysium
 - Covers entire skeletal muscle

Perimysium
- Surrounds a bundle of fibers (fascicles)

Endomysium
- Surrounds a single muscle fiber

Anatomy of a skeletal muscle

- Organization of skeletal muscles, coverings of skeletal muscles, skeletal
muscles & attachments

Skeletal muscle attachments

- Epimysium blends into a connective tissue attachment, tendon (cord like
structure)

Sites of muscle attachment

- Bones, cartilage, and connective tissue coverings

Sarcolemma
- Specialized plasma membrane

Sarcoplasmic reticulum
- Specialized smooth endoplasmic reticulum involved with muscle contraction