HUMAN ANATOMY: MUSCULAR SYSTEM

@ciatokinesis | De La Salle University

I. Types of Muscles

● 3 Types of Muscles:
○ Skeletal: Voluntary muscles attached to bones, responsible for body
movement.
○ Cardiac: Found in the heart, responsible for pumping blood.
○ Smooth: Located in internal organs, responsible for involuntary
movements.
● Interactions with the Nervous System:
○ Cardiac and Smooth Muscles: Responsive to nervous system signals,
hormones, and local stimuli.
○ Skeletal Muscle: Primarily depends on signaling from the nervous system
to function properly.

II. Characteristics of Muscles

● Excitability:
○ Muscles can change their electrical states, allowing them to transmit
action potentials along the entire length of the plasma membrane.
● Contractility:
○ The ability of muscle cells to shorten and generate force, essential for
movement.
● Extensibility:
○ Muscles have the ability to stretch and expand beyond their resting length,
facilitating flexibility.
● Elasticity:
○ Muscle elasticity enables them to recoil back to their original form after
contraction or extension.

III. Skeletal Muscle Functions

● Skeletal muscles have various functions:

○ Movement: Contract to cause movement.
○ Posture Maintenance: Aid in maintaining a stable body position.
○ Joint Stability: Prevent excess movement of bones and joints.
○ Organ Protection: Act as an external barrier, protecting internal organs.
○ Heat Generation: Contribute to the maintenance of body temperature by
generating heat during contraction.
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IV. Skeletal Muscle Structure

● Layers of Connective Tissue:

○ Epimysium: Dense, irregular connective tissue sheath providing strength
and separating the muscle from surrounding tissues.
○ Perimysium: Middle layer covering each fascicle, providing structural
support.
○ Endomysium: Thin connective tissue layer covering each muscle fiber,
playing a role in transferring force to tendons.

V. Skeletal Muscle Fibers

● Characteristics:
○ Multiple Nuclei: Allow for the production of large amounts of proteins and
enzymes crucial for maintaining normal function.
○ Sarcoplasmic Reticulum: A specialized smooth endoplasmic reticulum
that stores, releases, and retrieves calcium ions.
○ Sarcolemma: The plasma membrane of muscle fibers.
○ Myofibrils: Long, thread-like structures running the length of the cell,
containing sarcomeres, the functional units of muscle contraction.

VI. Sarcomere

● Functional Unit:
○ The sacromere is the smallest functional unit of a skeletal muscle fiber.
○ Shortening of sarcomeres leads to the contraction of individual skeletal
muscle fibers.
● Structural Components:
○ Striated Appearance: Results from the arrangement of thick and thin
myofilaments.
○ A Band: Dark region composed of myosin, where thicker myosin filaments
overlap with actin filaments.
○ M Line: Anchors thick filaments at the middle of the sarcomere.
○ I Band: Light region containing thin actin filaments.
○ H Zone: Region where thin filaments do not extend.

VII. Myofilament Components

● Thin Filaments:

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 ○ Composed of two filamentous actin chains.
○ Each globular actin monomer contains a myosin binding site.
○ Associated with regulatory proteins.
● Thick Myofilaments:
○ Composed of myosin protein complexes.
○ Contains binding sites for ATP.
○ Titin, a large protein anchored at the M-line, helps align thick filaments and
provides elasticity.

VIII. Interactions of Skeletal Muscles in the Body

● Terminology:
○ Insertion: The moveable end that attaches to the bone being pulled.
○ Origin: The end attached to a fixed bone.
○ Prime Mover (Agonist): The principal muscle involved in an action.
○ Synergist: Assists the prime mover, and can also function as a fixator.
○ Antagonist: A muscle with the opposite action of the prime mover.

IX. Additional Information

● Chewing:
○ Known as mastication.
● Muscles Involved in Chewing:
○ Masseter: Acts as the prime mover for chewing.
○ Medial Pterygoid and Lateral Pterygoid: Muscles involved in moving the
mandible to grind food.
● Head Movements:
○ Unilateral action of head muscles results in head rotation.
○ Bilateral action leads to head flexion or extension.
● Sternocleidomastoid:
○ Major muscle responsible for flexing and rotating the head, dividing the
neck into anterior and posterior triangles.
● Muscles of Posterior Neck and Back:
○ Primarily concerned with head movements, stabilization, and movement
of the vertebral column.
● Thorax Muscles:
○ Facilitate breathing by changing the volume of the thoracic cavity.
○ Intercostal muscles contribute to changing the dimensions of the rib cage.
● Abdominal Wall:

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 ○ Comprises four pairs of muscles, and tendinous intersections result in the
appearance of six-pack abs.
○ The linea alba is a white fibrous band made of bilateral rectus sheaths.
○ Layers of the anterior abdominal wall include skin, subcutaneous fat,
superficial fascia, external oblique abdominis, internal oblique abdominis,
transverse abdominis muscle, and transversalis fascia.
● Pelvic Floor:
○ A muscular sheet defining the inferior portion of the pelvic cavity.
○ The perineum is a diamond-shaped space divided into the urogenital and
posterior anal triangles.
● Pelvic Girdle:
○ Forms the foundation for the lower limbs.
● Area of Pelvis:
○ Crucial for maintaining the body's center of gravity.

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