Muscle Physiology

Mrs. Chanda Chisunka Banda

Physiology Facaulty
TAU-ZM
 Learning Objectives

• At the end of this lesson, students should be able to;

• Define muscle
• State the three types of muscle and their location
• Illustrate and explain the functional morphology of
skeletal muscle
• Explain the functions of skeletal muscle
 What is a Muscle Cell?

• A muscle cell is a type of cell with the

properties of converting chemical energy in
the form of adenosine triphosphate (ATP) to
mechanical energy.
 Types of Muscle

• Three types of muscle: skeletal, cardiac

and smooth muscle.
• Skeletal- attached to skeleton
• Cardiac- walls of the hearts chambers
• Smooth- visceral organs
Types of Muscle

• Skeletal Muscle

• Cardiac Muscle

• Smooth Muscle
 Skeletal Muscle

• Skeletal muscles are connected to bone (or

cartilage) by way of ligaments and produce
movement of parts of the body.
 Functions of skeletal muscle
• Produce movement
• Maintain body posture
and body position
• Support soft tissues
• Maintain body
temperature
• Store nutrient reserves
e. glycogen
• Guard body entrances
and exits
Histological Features of skeletal Muscle
Histological Features of skeletal Muscle cont…

• Long cylindrical cells

• Multinucleated cells with many peripheral nuclei
• Striated muscle - exhibit cross-striations
• Voluntary control - innervated by the somatic
nervous system (motor neurons)
• Respond quickly to stimuli
 Functional Anatomy of Skeletal Muscle
• Myofibrils (actin and
myosin)

• Muscle fibre (covered

by the endomysium)
 Functional Anatomy of Skeletal Muscle
• Fascicle (covered by
perimysium)
-Within the
perimysium are the
blood vessels and
nerves that supply the
individual muscle
fibers.
• Muscle (covered by
epimysium)
The Muscle fiber
The Muscle cell
• Sarcolemma
• Sarcoplasmic reticulum
• Sarcotubular system
(made up of the T system
and sarcoplasmic
reticulum)
The Muscle fiber
The Muscle cell
• T system is
continuous with the
sarcolemma for rapid
transmission of APs
to all fibrils.
• Sarcoplasmic
reticulum has
specialised cisterns
for storage and
release of Ca2+
The myofibril sarcomere
• The functional unit of
skeletal muscle is the
sarcomere
• The sarcomere
represents the repeating
contractile unit of the
skeletal muscle cell.
• Actin and myosin are the
contractile proteins
The myofibril sarcomere
• Myofibril is divided into
sarcomeres (abt 2µm)
• Z lines (demarcate one
sarcomere)
 Parts of the Sarcomere

• Z lines. One sarcomere runs between two Z

lines
• I band (light band). Contains thin filaments-
mainly made of actin
 Parts of the Sarcomere

• A band. Contains the entire length of thick

filaments- mainly made of myosin. Dark
areas at the ends of the A band has areas of
overlap of thin filaments and thick filaments
• H band. Thick filaments with no overlap of
thin filaments.
 Parts of the Sarcomere

• M line. Line in the centre of the sarcomere,

containing proteins that are important for
the organisation of the thick filaments in the
sarcomere.
Relaxed and contracted states of the sarcomere
Relaxed and contracted states of the sarcomere
• The Sliding Filament Model of Muscle Contraction.
• When a sarcomere contracts:
• Z lines move closer together,
• I band becomes smaller.
• H band becomes smaller
• A band stays the same width.
• At full contraction, the thin and thick filaments
increase overlap and the I and H bands may
dissapear
Relaxed and contracted states of the sarcomere
 Structure of filaments
• Two types of filaments;
thick and thin
filaments.
• Thick filaments-
contains myosin II
molecules.
• Myosin II has two
globular heads and a
long tail.
 Thick filament cont…

• Tails are made up of

heavy chains
• Heads are made up of
the light chains and the
amino terminal
portions of the heavy
chains.
 Thick filament cont…

• These heads contain an

actin-binding site and a
catalytic site that
hydrolyzes ATP
 Thin filament

• F actin made up of G
actin molecules
• Has active sites where
interaction with myosin
takes place.
 Thin filament cont…

• Has troponin complex

made up of three types
of troponin, I,C and T.
• These influence the
position of tropomyosin
on actin
 Thin filament cont…

• Tropomyosin extends
the entire length of the
actin to cover myosin
binding sites on the
actin filament.
 Other proteins involved in the thin filament

• Additional proteins associated with the thin

filament include tropomodulin, α-actinin, and capZ
protein.
• Tropomodulin is located at the end of the thin
filament, toward the center of the sarcomere, and
may participate in setting the length of the thin
filament. α-Actinin and capZ protein serve to
anchor the thin filament to the Z-line.
Interaction of thick and thin filaments
Muscle and Its myofibrils
• Happy Studying