MUSCLES:

TYPES & FUNCTION

BIO-3112: Tissue Biochemistry

Made By: Amna Fatima Ghayoor

Biochemistry BS-III
INTRODUCTION
• Muscles are soft contractile tissues that function to produce motion and force.
• Muscle cells contain protein filaments of actin and myosin that slide past one
another, producing a contraction that changes both the length and the shape of
the cell.
• The human body has over 600 muscles, which make up around 40 percent of
our bodyweight.
• Muscle is contractile tissue grouped into coordinated systems for greater
efficiency.
• The three types of muscles are striated (or skeletal), cardiac, and smooth (or
non-striated).
SKELETAL MUSCLE
INTRODUCTION
• Skeletal muscle is voluntary muscle,
under control of somatic nervous
system.
• It is anchored by tendons to bone and
used for movement and posture
maintenance.
• It is striated; it has repeating functional
units called sarcomeres.
• Skeletal muscle fibres are bound
together by connective tissue and
communicate with nerves and blood
vessels.
STRUCTURE
• Skeletal muscles are composed of muscle
cells (fibers), connective tissue, blood
vessels, nerves.
• Fibers are long, cylindrical, and
multinucleated.
• They tend to have smaller diameter in
small muscles and larger in large muscles;
1mm to 4cm in length.
• Nuclei are peripherally located
• Each muscle fiber acts independently of
neighboring muscle fibers.
SKELETAL MUSCLE
SKELETAL MUSCLE SHAPES
 FUNCTIONS
• The integrated action of joints, bones,
and skeletal muscles produces obvious
movements such as walking and
running.
• Skeletal muscles also produce more
subtle movements that result in various
facial expressions, eye movements, and
respiration.
• Other important functions in the body,
such as posture, joint stability, and heat
production.
• Posture is maintained as a result of muscle
contraction. The skeletal muscles are
continually making fine adjustments that
hold the body in stationary positions.
• The tendons of many muscles extend over
joints and in this way contribute to joint
stability.
• Heat production, to maintain body
temperature, is an important by-product of
muscle metabolism. Nearly 85% of the
heat produced in the body is the result of
muscle contraction.
SMOOTH MUSCLE
INTRODUCTION
• Smooth muscle is found in the walls of
the hollow internal organs such as blood
vessels, the gastrointestinal tract, bladder,
and uterus.
• They are under control of the autonomic
nervous system, they are involuntary
muscles.
• They are non-striated, have spindle-shape
with one central nucleus.
• They contract slowly and rhythmically.
STRUCTURE
• The size of smooth muscle cell is 3-10μm
thick and 20-200μm long.
• The cytoplasm consists of myofilaments:
 Actin filaments are stretched between dense
bodies
 Myosin filaments lie between the actin
filaments
 Intermediate filaments support the cell
structure, connecting dense bodies.

• The smooth muscle cells are anchored to

the surrounding connective tissue.
LOCATION & FUNCTION
• Smooth muscles are found in the walls
of hollow organs, like the intestine,
uterus, and stomach.
• They are also found in the walls of
passageways including arteries and
vein in the cardiovascular system.
• The urinary, respiratory and
reproductive system tracts also contain
smooth muscles.
• They are also present in the eyes,
where they act to change iris size and
shape of the lens.
• The smooth muscles in the walls of the
intestines contract and push food
forward (peristalsis).
• During childbirth, the smooth muscles
in a woman’s uterus contract.
• Smooth muscles are also present within
the walls of the bladder, the bronchi,
and the arrector pili in the skin, which
makes the hair stand up.
CARDIAC MUSCLE
INTRODUCTION
• Cardiac muscle is found in the walls of the
heart.
• It is under the control of autonomic nervous
system; thus, it is involuntary.
• The cardiac muscle cell has one central
nucleus, like smooth muscle, but it is also
striated like skeletal muscle.
• The contraction of cardiac muscle is
involuntary, strong, and rhythmical.
• They contain gap junctions that allow the
cells to be electrically coupled so they beat
in synchronization.
STRUCTURE
• Viewed through a microscope, cardiac muscle
cells are roughly rectangular, measuring 100–
150μm by 30–40μm.
• Cardiac muscle cells form highly branched
cellular network in the heart.
• They are connected end to end by intercalated
disc and are organized into layered myocardial
tissue that are wrapped around the chamber of
the heart.
• Cardiac muscle cells contain many
mitochondria which provide the energy needed
for the cell in the form of ATP, making them
highly resistant to fatigue.
 SUMMARY

• Skeletal muscles are • Smooth muscles are • Cardiac muscles are

Smooth

Cardiac
Skeletal

the striated muscles, not highly ordered a type of muscle

which are typically and found in the gut found in heart, and
attached to the and other internal are striated.
skeleton and are organs. • They are branching
under voluntary • They are single, chains of cells,
control. tapering cells with which are
• They are very long, one nucleus. connected by
cylindrical, porous intercalated
multinucleated cells. discs with a single
nucleus.
SUMMARY
REFERENCES
• https://training.seer.cancer.gov/anatomy/muscular/types.html
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muscle
• https://www.britannica.com/science/skeletal-muscle
• https://www.britannica.com/science/muscle/Muscle-types#ref58933
• https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/249192
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cardiac_muscle