Chapter 6

The Muscular
System

Lecture Presentation by
Patty Bostwick-Taylor
Florence-Darlington Technical College

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 The Muscular System

 Muscles are responsible for all types of body

movement
 Three basic muscle types are found in the body
1. Skeletal muscle
2. Cardiac muscle
3. Smooth muscle

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 Muscle Types

 Skeletal and smooth muscle cells are elongated

(muscle cell = muscle fiber)
 Contraction and shortening of muscles are due to
the movement of microfilaments
 All muscles share some terminology
 Prefixes myo- and mys- refer to “muscle”
 Prefix sarco- refers to “flesh”

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Table 6.1 Comparison of Skeletal, Cardiac, and Smooth Muscles

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Table 6.1 Comparison of Skeletal, Cardiac, and Smooth Muscles (1 of 2)

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Table 6.1 Comparison of Skeletal, Cardiac, and Smooth Muscles (2 of 2)

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 Muscle Types

 Skeletal muscle
 Most skeletal muscle fibers are attached by tendons to
bones
 Skeletal muscle cells are large, cigar-shaped, and
multinucleate
 Also known as striated muscle because of its obvious
stripes
 Also known as voluntary muscle because it is the only
muscle tissue subject to conscious control

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 Muscle Types

 Skeletal muscle cells are surrounded and

bundled by connective tissue
 Endomysium—encloses a single muscle fiber
 Perimysium—wraps around a fascicle (bundle) of
muscle fibers
 Epimysium—covers the entire skeletal muscle
 Fascia—on the outside of the epimysium

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Figure 6.1 Connective tissue wrappings of skeletal muscle.

Muscle
fiber
Blood vessel (cell)

Perimysium

Epimysium
(wraps entire
muscle)
Fascicle
(wrapped by
perimysium)

Endomysium
(between
fibers)
Tendon

Bone

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 Muscle Types

 The epimysium of skeletal muscle blends into a

connective tissue attachment
 Tendons—cordlike structures
 Mostly collagen fibers
 Often cross a joint because of their toughness and
small size
 Aponeuroses—sheetlike structures
 Attach muscles indirectly to bones, cartilages, or
connective tissue coverings

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 Muscle Types

 Smooth muscle
 No striations
 Involuntary—no conscious control
 Found mainly in the walls of hollow visceral organs
(such as stomach, urinary bladder, respiratory
passages)
 Spindle-shaped fibers that are uninucleate
 Contractions are slow and sustained

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Figure 6.2a Arrangement of smooth and cardiac muscle cells.

Circular layer
of smooth muscle
(longitudinal view
Mucosa of cells)

Longitudinal
Submucosa
layer of smooth
muscle (cross-
sectional view of
cells)
(a)
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 Muscle Types

 Cardiac muscle
 Striations
 Involuntary
 Found only in the walls of the heart
 Uninucleate
 Branching cells joined by gap junctions called
intercalated discs
 Contracts at a steady rate set by pacemaker

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Figure 6.2b Arrangement of smooth and cardiac muscle cells.

Cardiac
muscle
bundles

(b)
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 Muscle Functions

 Whereas all muscle types produce movement,

skeletal muscle has three other important roles:
 Maintain posture and body position
 Stabilize joints
 Generate heat

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 Microscopic Anatomy of Skeletal Muscle

 Sarcolemma—specialized plasma membrane

 Myofibrils—long organelles inside muscle cell
 Light (I) bands and dark (A) bands give the muscle its
striated (banded) appearance

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Figure 6.3a Anatomy of a skeletal muscle fiber (cell).

Sarcolemma

Myofibril

Dark Light Nucleus

(A) band (I) band
(a) Segment of a muscle fiber (cell)

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 Microscopic Anatomy of Skeletal Muscle

 Banding pattern of myofibrils

 I band = light band
 Contains only thin filaments
 Z disc is a midline interruption
 A band = dark band
 Contains the entire length of the thick filaments
 H zone is a lighter central area
 M line is in center of H zone

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Figure 6.3b Anatomy of a skeletal muscle fiber (cell).

Z disc H zone Z disc

Thin (actin)
myofilament
Thick (myosin)
myofilament

(b) Myofibril or fibril I band A band I band M line

(complex organelle
composed of bundles
of myofilaments)

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 Microscopic Anatomy of Skeletal Muscle

 Sarcomere—contractile unit of a muscle fiber

 Structural and functional unit of skeletal muscle
 Organization of the sarcomere
 Myofilaments produce banding (striped) pattern
 Thick filaments = myosin filaments
 Thin filaments = actin filaments

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 Microscopic Anatomy of Skeletal Muscle

 Thick filaments = myosin filaments

 Composed of the protein myosin
 Contain ATPase enzymes to split ATP to release
energy for muscle contractions
 Possess projections known as myosin heads
 Myosin heads are known as cross bridges when they
link thick and thin filaments during contraction

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 Microscopic Anatomy of Skeletal Muscle

 Thin filaments = actin filaments

 Composed of the contractile protein actin
 Actin is anchored to the Z disc
 At rest, within the A band there is a zone that
lacks actin filaments called the H zone
 During contraction, H zones disappear as actin
and myosin filaments overlap

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Figure 6.3c Anatomy of a skeletal muscle fiber (cell).

Sarcomere

M line
Z disc Z disc
Thin (actin)
myofilament

Thick (myosin)
myofilament

(c) Sarcomere (segment of a myofibril)

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 Microscopic Anatomy of Skeletal Muscle

 Sarcoplasmic reticulum (SR)

 Specialized smooth endoplasmic reticulum
 Surrounds the myofibril
 Stores and releases calcium

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 Stimulation and Contraction of Single Skeletal Muscle Cells

 Special functional properties of skeletal muscles

 Irritability (also called responsiveness)—ability to
receive and respond to a stimulus
 Contractility—ability to forcibly shorten when an
adequate stimulus is received
 Extensibility—ability of muscle cells to be stretched
 Elasticity—ability to recoil and resume resting length
after stretching

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 The Nerve Stimulus and Action Potential

 Skeletal muscles must be stimulated by a motor

neuron (nerve cell) to contract
 Motor unit—one motor neuron and all the skeletal
muscle cells stimulated by that neuron

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Figure 6.4a Motor units.

Axon terminals at
neuromuscular junctions
Spinal cord

Motor Motor
unit 1 unit 2

Nerve

Axon of
Motor motor
neuron neuron
cell bodies

Muscle Muscle fibers

(a)
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Figure 6.4b Motor units.

Axon terminals at Muscle

neuromuscular junctions fibers

Branching
axon to
motor unit
(b)
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 A&P Flix™: Events at the Neuromuscular
Junction

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 A&P Flix™: The Cross Bridge Cycle

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 Muscle Fatigue and Oxygen Deficit

 If muscle activity is strenuous and prolonged,

muscle fatigue occurs
 Suspected factors that contribute to muscle
fatigue include:
 Ion imbalances (Ca2+, K+)
 Oxygen deficit and lactic acid accumulation
 Decrease in energy (ATP) supply
 After exercise, the oxygen deficit is repaid by
rapid, deep breathing

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 Types of Muscle Contractions

 Isotonic contractions
 Myofilaments are able to slide past each other during
contractions
 The muscle shortens, and movement occurs
 Example: bending the knee; lifting weights, smiling
 Isometric contractions
 Muscle filaments are trying to slide, but the muscle is
pitted against an immovable object
 Tension increases, but muscles do not shorten
 Example: pushing your palms together in front of you

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 Muscle Tone

 Muscle tone
 State of continuous partial contractions
 Result of different motor units being stimulated in a
systematic way
 Muscle remains firm, healthy, and constantly ready for
action

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 Effect of Exercise on Muscles

 Exercise increases muscle size, strength, and

endurance
 Aerobic (endurance) exercise (biking, jogging) results
in stronger, more flexible muscles with greater
resistance to fatigue
 Makes body metabolism more efficient
 Improves digestion, coordination
 Resistance (isometric) exercise (weight lifting)
increases muscle size and strength
 Individual muscle fibers enlarge

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Figure 6.11 The effects of aerobic training versus strength training.

(a) (b)

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