Module 5

THE MUSCULAR SYSTEM

Overview
The human body enjoys an incredibly wide range of
movements. The gentle blinking of your eye, standing on tiptoe,
and wielding a sledgehammer are just a small sample of the
different activities promoted by your muscular system. Muscle
tissue includes all contractile tissues (skeletal, cardiac, and smooth
muscle), but when we study the muscular system, skeletal muscle
stake center stage. These muscular “machines” that enable us to
perform so many different activities are the focus of this chapter.
Before describing the individual muscles in detail, we will describe
the manner in which muscles “play” with or against each other to
bring about movements, consider the criteria used for naming
muscles, and explain the principles of leverage.
Learning Outcome:
At the end of the lesson, the students are expected to
1.define Muscular system and skeletal system
2.identify the types of muscular system and types of muscle
3.demonstrate the Muscle movements, types and names
4.integrate learning as the assessment goes by; and
5.discuss anatomy of muscles and how they’re organized in the
human body and the functions of the Muscular system

Materials
Laptop
Google scholar
Powerpoint presentation
Google class

References
http://www.innerbody.com/image/musfov.html
https://www.britannica.com/science/human-muscle-system/
Evolutionary-contex
https://www.google.com./images/muscular-system
https://www.napavalley.edu/people/bridge/documents/bio
https://www.kenhub.com/en/library/anatomy/types-of-movements-
in-the-body
https://www.google.com/anatomyandphysiology/chapter/9-5-types-
of-body-movements
https://training.seer.cancer.gov/anatomy/muscular
https://kidshealth.org/en/kids/muscle.html

Lesson Proper
While most people associate muscles with strength, they do
more than assist in lifting heavy objects. The 650 muscles in the
body not only support movement — controlling walking, talking,
sitting, standing, eating and other daily functions that people
consciously perform — but also help to maintain posture and
circulate blood and other substances throughout the body, among
other functions. Muscles are often associated with activities of the
legs, arms and other appendages, but muscles also produce more
subtle movements, such as facial expressions, eye movements and
respiration, according to the National Institutes of Health (NIH).

Figure 1.1. The Muscular System

Muscular System is an organ system consisting of skeletal,

smooth and cardiac muscles. It permits movement of the body,

maintains posture and circulates blood throughout the body. The

muscular systems in vertebrates are controlled through the nervous
system although some muscles can be completely autonomous.
Muscular system consists of two different types of tissue. The
connective tissue and the muscle tissue.
Three Types of Muscular System
The muscular system can be broken down into three types
of muscles: skeletal, smooth and cardiac, according to the NIH.
 Figure 1.2. The Skeletal Muscles
Skeletal muscles are the only voluntary muscle tissue in the
human body and control every action that a person consciously
performs. Most skeletal muscles are attached to two bones across
a joint, so the muscle serves to move parts of those bones closer to
each other, according to The Merck Manual. There are more than
600 skeletal muscles, and they makes up about 40 percent of a
person’s body weight. When the nervous system signals the
muscle to contract, groups of muscles work together to move the
skeleton. These signals and movements are nearly involuntary, yet
they do require conscious effort. However, humans do not need to
concentrate on individual muscles when moving.
 Figure 1.3 Connective Tissue Wrappings of Skeletal Muscle

Connective tissue wrappings of the skeletal muscle are

important. It is supporting and binding the muscle fibers, providing
strength to the muscle as a whole and to provide a route for the
entry and exit of nerves and blood vessels that serve the muscle
fibers.

● Endomysium – around single muscle fiber

● Perimysium - around the fascicle bundle of fibers

● Epimysium – covers the entire skeletal muscle

● Facia – on the outside of the epimysium

Figure 1.4 Skeletal Muscle Attachment

Most skeletal muscles are attached to bones by bundles of
collagen fibers known as tendons. A skeletal muscle refers to
multiple bundles (fascicles) of cells joined together called muscle
fibers. The fibers and muscles are surrounded by connective tissue
layers called fasciae.

Figure 1.5 The Smooth Muscles

Visceral, or smooth, muscle is found inside organs such as
the stomach and intestines, as well as in blood vessels. It is called
a smooth muscle because, unlike skeletal muscle, it does not have
the banded appearance of skeletal or cardiac muscle. The weakest
of all muscle tissues, visceral muscles contract to move substances
through the organ, according to The Merck Manual. Because
visceral muscle is controlled by the unconscious part of the brain, it
is known as involuntary muscle, as it cannot be controlled by the
conscious mind.

Figure 1.6 The Cardiac Muscles

Found only in the heart, cardiac muscle is an involuntary
muscle responsible for pumping blood throughout the body,
according to The Merck Manual. The heart's natural pacemaker is
made of cardiac muscle that signals other cardiac muscles to
contract. Like visceral muscles, cardiac muscle tissue is controlled
involuntarily. While hormones and signals from the brain adjust the
rate of contraction, cardiac muscle stimulates itself to contract.
Functions of the Muscular System
Producing movement is a common function of all muscle types,
but skeletal muscle plays three other important roles in the body as
well. Producing movement. Mobility of the body as a whole reflects
the activity of the skeletal muscles, which are responsible for all
locomotion; they enable us to respond quickly to changes in the
external environment.
Maintaining posture. We are rarely aware of the skeletal muscles
that maintain body posture, yet they function almost continuously,
making one tiny adjustment after another so that we can maintain
an erect or seated posture despite the never-ending downward pull
of gravity.
Stabilizing joints. As the skeletal muscles pull on bones to cause
movements, they also stabilize the joints of the skeleton; muscle
tendons are extremely important in reinforcing and stabilizing joints
that have poorly fitting articulating surfaces.
Generating heat. The fourth function of muscle, generation of body
heat, is a by-product of muscle activity; as ATP is used to power
muscle contraction, nearly three-quarters of its energy escape as
heat and this heat is vital in maintaining normal body temperature.
Anatomy of the Muscular System
Two Different Types of Muscle

● Voluntary -muscles action that is under your control and

most skeletal movement is voluntary. Examples such as
walking, talking, running, writing, jumping and stretching
● Involuntary
-muscles action that is not under your control and cardiac
and smooth are both involuntary. Examples such as heart
beating, moving of food through digestive tract.
Characteristics of Muscles

● Muscle cells are elongated ( muscle cell= muscle fiber)

● Contraction of muscles is due to the movements of

microfilaments

Figure 1.7 The Human Muscle Anatomy

● Sarcolemma. Many oval nuclei can be seen just beneath

the plasma membrane, which is called the sarcolemma in
muscle cells. It maintains the same function in muscle cells
as plasma membrane does in a eukaryote cells.
● Myofibrils. The nuclei are pushed aside by long ribbon like
organelles, the myofibrils, which nearly fill the cytoplasm.
 ● Light and dark bands. Alternating dark and light bands
along the length of the perfectly aligned myofibrils give the
muscle cell as a whole its striped appearance.
● Sarcomeres. The myofibrils are actually chains of tiny
contractile units called sarcomeres, which are aligned end to
end like boxcars in a train along the length of the myofibrils.
● Myofilaments. There are two types of threadlike protein
myofilaments within each of our “boxcar” sarcomeres.
● Thick filaments. The larger, thick filaments, also called
myosin filaments, are made mostly of bundled molecules of
the protein myosin, but they also contain ATPase enzymes,
which split ATP to generate the power for muscle
contraction.
● Cross bridges. Notice that the mid parts of the thick
filaments are smooth, but their ends are studded with thick
projections; these projections, or myosin beads, are called
cross bridges when they link the thick and thin filaments
together during contraction.
● Thin filaments. The thin filaments are composed of the
contractile protein called actin, plus some regulatory proteins
that play a role in allowing (or preventing) myosin-bead
binding to actin; the thin filaments, also called actin
filaments, are anchored to the Z disc (a disclike membrane).
● Sarcoplasmic reticulum. Another very important muscle
fiber organelle is the sarcoplasmic reticulum, a specialized
smooth endoplasmic reticulum; the interconnecting tubules
and sacs of the SR surround each and every myofibril just as
the sleeve of a loosely crocheted sweater surrounds your
arm, and its major role is to store calcium and to release it
on demand.
Muscle Movements, Types, and Names
This section is a bit of a hodge-podge. It includes some
topics that don’t really fit together, but they don’t fit anywhere else
any better.
 Types of Body Movements
Figure 1.8 Types of Body Movements
Every one of our 600-odd skeletal muscles is attached to
bone, or to other connective tissue structures, at no fewer than two
points.

● Origin. One of these points, the origin, is attached to the

immovable or less movable bone.
● Insertion. The insertion is attached to the movable bone,
and when the muscle contracts, the insertion moves toward
the origin.
● Flexion. Flexion is a movement, generally in the sagittal
plane, that decrease the angle of the joint and brings two
bones closer together; it is a type of hinge joints, but it is also
common at ball-and-socket joints.
● Extension. Extension is the opposite of flexion, so it is a
movement that increases the angle, or the distance,
between two bones or parts of the body.
● Rotation. Rotation is movement of a bone around a
longitudinal axis; it is a common movement of ball-and-
socket joints.
● Abduction. Abduction is moving the limb away from the
midline, or median plane, of the body.
● Adduction. Adduction is the opposite of abduction, so it is
the movement of a limb toward the body midline.
 ● Circumduction. Circumduction is a combination of flexion,
extension, abduction, and adduction commonly seen in ball-
and-socket joints; the proximal end is stationary, and its
distal end moves in a circle.
Special Movements
Certain movements do not fit into any of the previous
categories and occur at only a few joints.

⮚ Dorsiflexion and plantar flexion. Lifting the foot so that its

superior surface approaches the shin is called dorsiflexion,
whereas depressing the foot is called plantar flexion.
⮚ Inversion and eversion. To invert the foot, turn the sole
medially; to evert the foot, turn the sole laterally.
⮚ Supination and pronation. Supination occurs when the
forearm rotates laterally so that the palm faces anteriorly and
the radius and ulna are parallel; pronation occurs when the
forearm rotates medially so that the palm faces posteriorly.
Opposition. In the palm of the hand, the saddle joint between
metacarpal 1 and the carpals allows opposition of the thumb.
Interactions of Skeletal Muscles in the Body
Muscles are arranged in such a way that whatever one
muscle can do, other muscles can reverse. Because of this,
muscles are able to bring about an immense variety of movements.

⮚ Prime mover. The muscle that has the major responsibility

for causing a particular movement is called the prime mover.
⮚ Antagonists. Muscles that oppose or reverse a movement
are antagonists; when a prime mover is active, its antagonist
is stretched and relaxed.
⮚ Synergists. Synergists help prime movers by producing the
same movement or by reducing undesirable movements.
⮚ Fixators. Fixators are specialized synergists; they hold a
bone still or stabilize the origin of a prime mover so all
tension can be used to move the insertion bone.
Naming Skeletal Muscles
Like bones, muscles come in many shapes and sizes to suit
their particular tasks in the body.
Direction of the muscle fibers.
When a muscle’s name includes the term rectus (straight) its
fibers run parallel to that imaginary line; the term oblique as part of
a muscle’s name tells you that the muscle fibers run obliquely (at a
slant) to the imaginary line.

Relative size of the muscle.

Such terms as maximus (largest) minimus (smallest), and
longus (long) are often used in the names of muscles.
Location of the muscle.
Some muscles are named for the bone with which they are
associated; for example, the temporalis and frontalis muscles
overlie the temporal and frontal bones of the skull.
Number of origins.
 When the term biceps, triceps, or quadriceps forms part of a
muscle name, one can assume that the muscle has two, three, or
four origins.

Shape of the muscle.

Some muscles have a distinctive shape that helps to identify
them.

Head and Neck Muscles

 Trunk Muscles

Pelvis, Hip, and Thigh Muscles

Muscles of the Lower Leg

Superficial Muscles: Posterior
 Superficial Muscles: Anterior

Multiple Choice
Directions: Choose and encircle the letter of the correct answer.

1. What is smooth muscle responsible for?

a. Carries out mostly involuntary processes like digestion
and pumping blood through arteries.
b. Controls all involuntary movements
c. Responsible for voluntary body movements.
d. Rigor mortis

2. What is skeletal muscle responsible for?

a. Carries out mostly involuntary processes like digestion
and pumping blood through arteries.
 b. Controls most involuntary movements
c. Prevents the actin from rubbing with the myosin.
d. Responsible for voluntary body movements.

3. How many muscles are there in the human body?

a. 230
b. 550
c. 640
d. 950
4. What connects tendon to the bone?
a. Bone
b. Cartilage
c. Ligaments
d. Muscle

5. Which Ligaments connected to?

a. Bone to bone
b. Cartilage to bone
c. Muscle to bone
d. Tendons to muscles

6. How many kinds of muscles are there in the body?

a. 2
b. 3
c. 5
d. 6

7. Where is the cardiac muscle found?

a. bones
b. heart
c. lungs
d. skin

8. What is a voluntary muscle?

a. Muscle works automatically
b. Muscles fuse together
c. You have control over the muscle
 d. You have no control over the muscle

9. What is a voluntary muscle?

a. Muscle works automatically
b. Muscles fuse together
c. You have control over the muscle
d. You have no control over the muscle

10. What does the term "striated" mean?

a. Skeletal
b. Smooth
c. Striped
d. Strong

11. Which of the following performs different functions that is

elastic bundles of tissue?
a. Joints
b. Ligaments
c. Muscle
d. Tendons
12. What makes our muscles stronger?
a. diet
b. exercise
c. food
d. sleeping

. 13. Are attached to the skeletal muscles?

a. Involuntary Muscles
b. Lungs
c. Skeleton
d. Stomach

14. Which of these is NOT a type of muscle?

a. Brain
b. Cardiac
c. Skeletal
d. Smooth
15. Is the combination of skeletal muscles and bones working
together in a system?
a. Muscular
b. Musculoskeletal
c. Reflex
d. Skeletal

16. Where two or more bones meet?

a. Joint
b. Ligament
c. Muscle
d. Tendon

17. Are the Division of joints allowing ample movement between

2 or more specific heads of bones?
a. diarthrosis
b. ligaments and femur
c. synarthroses
d. tendons and tibia
18. What restricts Ligaments’ action?
a. Both (b) and (c)
b. Cartilage junction
c. Hyper extension
d. Hyper flexion

19. What muscles that oppose or reverse a movement?

a. Antagonist
b. Fixators
c. Primeover
d. Synergists
20. Is an example of stretch reflex stimulated by passive muscle
movement?
a. flexor reflex
b. ipsilateral reflex
 c. patellar reflex
d. tendon reflex
21. What is the opposite of flexion?
a. abduction
b. Extension
c. Origin
d. Rotation
22. Which of the following is not function of muscular system?
a. Breathing
b. Generating heat
c. Maintaining posture
d. Producing movement
23. Is the Division of joints fibrous in nature permitting no
movement?
a. diarthrosis
b. ligaments and femur
c. synarthroses
d. tendons and tibia
24. Is a small band of dense, white and fibrous elastic tissue?
a. ligament
b. muscle cartilage
c. muscle filament
d. muscle junction
25. What is the combination of flexion, extension, abduction,
and adduction?
a. adduction
b. circumduction
c. extension
d. rotation
26. What type of muscle is not striated, involuntary and has a
single nucleus?
a. cardiac
b. skeletal
c. smooth
d. ligament
27. Are the group muscle contains the semimembranosus,
biceps femoris, and semitendinosus located on the posterior
thigh?
 a. abdominals
b. adductoris
c. hamstring
d. quadriceps
28. What muscles found in the stomach?
a. cardiac muscle
b. muscle
c. Skeletal muscle
d. visceral muscle
29. What makes muscle stronger?
a. diet
b. food
c. exercise
d. sleeping
30. What is the opposite of adduction?
a. abduction
b. circumduction
c. deduction
d. Rotation
Essay:
1. Explain the anatomy of muscles and how they’re organized in the
human body in 3-5 sentence paragraph only (5pts)

2. Discuss the function of the muscular system based on your own

understanding (10pts.)