C H A P T ER 9

Muscular System
Introduction
There are 3 types of muscle tissue in the muscular system:
◦ Skeletal muscle
◦ Attached to bones of skeleton
◦ Under conscious control
◦ Striated
◦ Cardiac muscle
◦ Wall of heart
◦ Not under conscious control
◦ Striated
◦ Smooth muscle
◦ Walls of most viscera, blood vessels, skin
◦ Not under conscious control
◦ Not striated
Muscle Functions
1. Produce skeletal movements
2. Maintain body posture and position
3. Support soft tissues
4. Peristalsis
5. Pumping blood
6. Heat production
Structure of a Skeletal Muscle
Skeletal muscles:
◦ Attach to bones, and skin of face
◦ Under conscious control (voluntary)
◦ A skeletal muscle is an organ of the muscular system

Composed of:
◦ Skeletal muscle tissue
◦ Nervous tissue
◦ Blood
◦ Connective tissues
Connective Tissue
Coverings
Epimysium
◦ Surrounds whole muscle

Perimysium
◦ Surrounds fascicles within a muscle

Endomysium
◦ Surrounds muscle fibers (cells) within a fascicle
Skeletal
Muscle Fibers
Skeletal muscle fiber = muscle cell
Mutinucleated
Sarcolemma
Sarcoplasma
Myofibrils:
◦ Thin filaments
◦ Actin, tropomyosin, and troponin
◦ Thick filaments
◦ Myosin
Sarcoplasmic
Reticulum and Triad
Sarcoplasmic reticulum (SR)
Transverse (T) tubule
Triad:
◦ 1 T tubule and 2 SR cisternae
Myofibrils and
Sarcomeres
Myofibrils consist of sarcomeres
connected end-to-end

Striation pattern is made by

arrangement of myofilaments in
myofibrils

Sarcomeres contain:
◦ I band (thin filament)
◦ A band (thick and thin filament)
◦ H zone (thick filament)
◦ Z line (or Z disc)
◦ M line
Skeletal Muscle
Fibers
Thick filaments:
◦ Composed of myosin
◦ Myosin heads form cross-bridges

Thick filaments:
◦ Composed of actin protein, which serves as
myosin-binding site
◦ Associated with troponin and tropomyosin
proteins, which prevent cross-bridge formation
when muscle is not contracting
Neuromuscular
Junction
Neuromuscular Junction (NMJ):
◦ Type of synapse
◦ Also called myoneural junction
◦ Site where an axon of motor neuron and skeletal muscle
fiber interact
◦ Skeletal muscle fibers contract only when stimulated by a
motor neuron

Parts of a NMJ:
◦ Motor neuron
◦ Motor end plate
◦ Synaptic cleft
◦ Synaptic vesicles
◦ neurotransmitters
Stimulus for
Contraction
Acetylcholine (ACh) is the neurotransmitter
Nerve impulse causes release of ACh from synaptic
vesicles
ACh binds to ACh receptors on motor end plate
(folded area of the sarcolemma with ACh receptors)
ACh causes changes in membrane permeability to
Na+ and K+ which generates a muscle impulse (action
potential)
Impulse causes release of Ca2+ from SR, which leads
to muscle contraction
NMJ Animation
Clinical Application: Myasthenia
Gravis (MG)
MG is an autoimmune disorder
Antibodies attach ACh receptors on the skeletal muscle fibers (motor end plate) in NMJs
Person may have only 1/3 normal number of ACh receptors
Leads to widespread muscle weakness and muscle fatigue
Treatment:
◦ Drugs that inhibit acetylcholinesterase
◦ Immunosuppressant drugs
◦ Administering antibodies that inactivate harmful antibodies
◦ Plasma exchange
Excitation-Contraction Coupling
Excitation-Contraction Coupling:
◦ Connection between muscle fiber stimulation and muscle contraction

During muscle relaxation:

◦ Ca2+ ions are stored in SR
◦ Troponin-tropomyosin complexes cover binding sites on actin filaments

Upon muscle stimulation:

◦ Muscle impulses cause SR to release Ca2+ into cytosol
◦ Ca2+ binds to troponin, causing conformational change in shape
◦ Each tropomyosin is held in place by a troponin molecule
◦ The change in shape of troponin alters the position of tropomyosin
◦ Binding sites on actin are now exposed
◦ Myosin heads bind to actin, forming cross-bridges

Excitation Animation
Excitation-
Contraction Coupling

Contraction Cycle Animation

The Sliding Filament Model
Sliding Filament Model of Muscle Contraction:
◦ When sarcomeres shorten, thick and thin filaments slide
past one another
◦ H zones and I bands narrow
◦ Z lines move closer together
◦ Thin and thick filaments do not change length
◦ Overlap between filaments increases
Cross-Bridge
Cycling
Myosin head attaches to actin binding site, forming
cross-bridge
Myosin cross-bridge pulls thin filament toward
center of sarcomere
ADP and phosphate are released from myosin
New ATP binds to myosin
Linkage between actin and myosin cross-bridge
ATP splits
Myosin cross-bridge goes back to original position
Relaxation
When neural stimulation of muscle fiber stops:
◦ Acetylcholinesterase (enzyme) rapidly decomposes ACh remaining in the synapse
◦ Muscle impulse stops when ACh is decomposed
◦ Stimulus to sarcolemma and muscle fiber membrane ceases
◦ Calcium pump moves Ca2+ back into SR
◦ Troponin-tropomyosin complex again covers binding site on actin
◦ Myosin and actin binding is now prevented
◦ Muscle fiber relaxes
Energy Sources
for Contraction
1. ATP reserves: small amount
2. Creatine phosphate: initial
sources of energy to
regenerate ATP from ADP and
P
3. Cellular respiration
Oxygen Supply and Cellular Respiration
CELLULAR RESPIRATION: ANAEROBIC PHASE CELLULAR RESPIRATION: AEROBIC PHASE

Glycolysis Citric acid cycle and electron transport system

Occurs in cytoplasm Occurs in the mitochondria
Produces little ATP Produces the most ATP
Myoglobin stores extra oxygen in muscles
Oxygen Debt
During rest or moderate exercise, respiratory and cardiovascular systems supply enough O2 to
support aerobic respiration
Anaerobic (Lactic Acid) Threshold:
◦ Shift in metabolism from aerobic to anaerobic, during strenuous muscle activity, when the above
systems cannot supply the necessary O2
◦ Lactic acid is produced

Oxygen Debt:
◦ Amount of oxygen needed by liver cells to convert the accumulated lactic acid to glucose, and to restore
muscle ATP and creatine phosphate concentration
Oxygen Debt
Heat Production
Heat is a by-product of cellular respiration in active cells
Muscle cells are major source of body heat
More than half the energy released in cellular respiration becomes heat; less than half is
transferred to ATP
Blood transports heat throughout body core
Recording of a
Muscle Contraction
Twitch: contractile response of a
single muscle fiber to a single
impulse
◦ Latent period
◦ Period of contraction
◦ Period of relaxation
Length-Tension
Relationship
Length of muscle fiber before stimulation
determines amount of force it can develop

Optimum starting length is resting length of

the muscle fiber
◦ This allows the greatest force to develop

Stretched muscle fibers develop less force,

since some myosin heads cannot reach
binding sites on actin

Shortened muscle fibers also develop less

force, since compressed sarcomeres cannot
shorten further
Recruitment of
Motor Units
Motor Unit:
◦ A motor neuron plus all the muscle fibers it
controls

A whole muscle consists of many motor units

Coarse movements are produced with large
numbers of fibers in a motor unit
Precise movements are produced with fewer
muscle fibers in a motor unit
Recruitment of Motor Units
Recruitment:
◦ Increase in the number of motor units activated, to produce more force

Certain motor units are activated first, and others are activated only when the intensity of
stimulus increases
As intensity of stimulation increases, recruitment of motor units continues until all motor units
are activated
Types of Contractions
Isotonic: muscle contracts and changes length; equal force
◦ Concentric: shortening contraction
◦ Eccentric: lengthening contraction

Isometric: muscle contracts but does not change length, change in force

(a) Muscle contracts with (b) Muscle contracts with (c) Muscle contracts but
force greater than resistance force less than resistance does not change length
and shortens (concentric and lengthens (eccentric (isometric contraction)
contraction) contraction)
Clinical Application: Use and Disuse of
Skeletal Muscles
Hypertrophy: Enlargement of skeletal muscle that is exercised
Atrophy: Decrease in size and strength of skeletal muscle that is unused
Aerobic exercise stimulates slow-twitch fibers. In response, fibers increase their capillaries and
mitochondria.
Forceful exercise stimulates mainly fast-twitch fibers. In response, fibers produce new actin and
myosin filaments, and the muscle enlarges.
Skeletal Muscle Actions
Skeletal muscle generates a great variety of body movements
The action of each muscle mostly depends upon:
◦ The type of joint it is associated with
◦ The way the muscle is attached on either side of the joint
Origin and Insertion
One end of a skeletal muscle is more fixed, and
the other end is more movable:
◦ Origin: less movable end
◦ Insertion: more movable end

When a muscle contracts, insertion is pulled

toward origin
Interaction of Skeletal Muscles
Most skeletal muscles function in groups
Agonist: muscle that causes an action
Prime mover: agonist primarily responsibly for movement
◦ In some cases, the terms “agonist” and “prime mover” are used interchangeably)

Synergist: muscles that assist agonist/prime mover

Antagonist: muscles whose contraction causes movement in the opposite direction of the prime
mover
Smooth Muscle
Compared to skeletal muscle fibers, smooth muscle fibers are:
◦ Shorter
◦ Single, centrally located nucleus
◦ Elongated with tapering ends
◦ Myofilaments randomly organized
◦ Lack striations
◦ Lack transverse tubules
◦ SR not well developed
Smooth Muscle Contraction
Resembles skeletal muscle contraction in these ways:
◦ Interaction between actin and myosin
◦ Both use calcium and ATP
◦ Both are triggered by membrane impulses

Different from skeletal muscle contraction in these ways:

◦ Smooth muscle lacks troponin; uses calmodulin instead
◦ Two neurotransmitters affect smooth muscle
◦ Acetylcholine (ACh) and norepinephrine (NE)
◦ Hormones can stimulate or inhibit smooth muscle
◦ Stretching can trigger smooth muscle contraction
◦ Smooth muscle slower to contract and relax
◦ Smooth muscle more resistant to fatigue
◦ Smooth muscle can change length without changing tautness
Types of Smooth Muscle
MULTI-UNIT SMOOTH MUSCLE VISCERAL SMOOTH MUSCLE

Cells are less organized Single-unit smooth muscle; cells response as a

unit
Function as separate units
Sheets of spindle-shaped muscle fibers
Fibers function independently
Fibers held together by gap junctions
Iris of eye, wall of blood vessels
Exhibit rhythmicity
Stimulated by neurons, hormones
Conduct peristalsis
Walls of most hollow organs
More common type of smooth muscle
Cardiac Muscle
Located only in the heart
Striated muscle cells
Muscle fibers joined together by intercalated discs
Fibers branch, contain a single nucleus
Network of fibers contract as a unit (syncytium)
Self-exciting and rhythmic
No sustained or tetanic contractions
Characteristics
of Muscle
Tissues