The Muscular System

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PowerPoint® Lecture Slides Prepared by Patty Bostwick-Taylor,Florence-Darlington Technical College

C H A P T E R 6The Muscular System

© 2012 Pearson Education, Inc.

The Muscular System

•Muscles are responsible for all types of body movement

•Three basic muscle types are found in the body•Skeletal, Cardiac, Smooth

•Skeletal and smooth muscle cells are elongated (muscle cell = muscle fiber)

•Contraction and shortening of muscles is due to the movement of microfilaments

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Skeletal Muscle Functions

•Produce movement•Maintain posture•Stabilize joints•Generate heat

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Microscopic Anatomy of Skeletal Muscle

•Sarcolemma—specialized plasma membrane•Myofibrils—long organelles inside muscle cell•Sarcoplasmic reticulum—specialized smooth endoplasmic reticulum

Figure 6.3a

Sarcolemma

Myofibril

Dark(A) band

Light(I) band

Nucleus

(a) Segment of a muscle fiber (cell)

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Microscopic Anatomy of Skeletal Muscle

•Sarcomere—contractile unit of a muscle fiber•Organization of the sarcomere

•Myofilaments•Thick filaments = myosin filaments•Thin filaments = actin filaments

Figure 6.3b

(b) Myofibril or fibril (complex organelle composed of bundles of myofilaments)

Z disc H zone Z disc

I band A band I band M line

Thin (actin) filamentThick (myosin) filament

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Microscopic Anatomy of Skeletal Muscle

•Thick filaments = myosin filaments•Composed of the protein myosin•Has ATPase enzymes•Myosin filaments have heads (extensions, or cross bridges)

•Thin filaments = actin filaments•Actin•Troponin-tropomyosin complex

© 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. Figure 6.3c

Z disc

Sarcomere

M lineZ disc

Thin (actin) filament

Thick (myosin) filament

(c) Sarcomere (segment of a myofibril)

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Microscopic Anatomy of Skeletal Muscle

•Sarcoplasmic reticulum (SR) -stores and releases calcium•T Tubules –transfer action potential to SR

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Stimulation and Contraction of Single Skeletal Muscle Cells

•Excitability (also called responsiveness or irritability)—ability to receive and respond to a stimulus

•Contractility—ability to 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

© 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. Figure 6.4a(a)

Spinal cord

Motor unit 1

Motor unit 2

Axon terminals at neuromuscular junctions

Nerve

Axon ofmotorneuron

Motor neuroncell bodies

Muscle Muscle fibers

© 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. Figure 6.4b

Axon terminals at neuromuscular junctions Muscle fibers

Branching axonto motor unit

(b)

© 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. Figure 6.5

© 2012 Pearson Education, Inc.

The Nerve Stimulus and Action Potential

•Synaptic cleft •Gap between nerve and muscle•Nerve and muscle do not make contact•Area between nerve and muscle is filled with interstitial fluid

•Action potential reaches the axon terminal of the motor neuron

•Calcium channels open and calcium ions enter the axon terminal

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Transmission of Nerve Impulse to Muscle

•Calcium ion entry causes some synaptic vesicles to release their contents (acetylcholine, a neurotransmitter) by exocytosis

•Neurotransmitter—chemical released by nerve upon arrival of nerve impulse in the axon terminal•The neurotransmitter for skeletal muscle is acetylcholine (ACh)

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Transmission of Nerve Impulse to Muscle

•Acetylcholine attaches to receptors on the sarcolemma of the muscle cell

•In response to the binding of ACh to a receptor, the sarcolemma becomes permeable to sodium (Na+)

•Sodium rushes into the cell generating an action potential and potassium leaves the cell

•Once started, muscle contraction cannot be stopped

© 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. Figure 6.5, step 4

Action potential reaches axonterminal of motor neuron.

Calcium (Ca2+) channelsopen and Ca2+ enters the axon terminal.

Ca2+ entry causes somesynaptic vesicles to release theircontents (acetylcholine, a neurotransmitter) by exocytosis.

Acetylcholine diffuses acrossthe synaptic cleft and binds toreceptors in the sarcolemma.

Synaptic vesicle containing ACh

Axon terminal of motor neuronMitochondrion

Ca2+

Fusing synapticvesicleSarcoplasmof muscle fiberFolds ofsarcolemma

Ca2+

AChreceptor

ACh

1

2

3

4

SarcolemmaSynapticcleft

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The Sliding Filament Theory of Muscle Contraction

•Activation by nerve causes myosin heads (cross bridges) to attach to binding sites on the thin filament

•Myosin heads then bind to the next site of the thin filament and pull them toward the center of the sarcomere

•This continued action causes a sliding of the myosin along the actin

•The result is that the muscle is shortened (contracted)

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Contraction of Skeletal Muscle

•Muscle fiber contraction is “all or none”•Within a skeletal muscle, not all fibers may be stimulated during the same interval

•Different combinations of muscle fiber contractions may give differing responses

•Graded responses—different degrees of skeletal muscle shortening

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Contraction of Skeletal Muscle

•Graded responses can be produced by changing:•The frequency of muscle stimulation•The number of muscle cells being stimulated at one time

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Types of Graded Responses

•Twitch•Single, brief contraction•Not a normal muscle function

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Muscle Response to Strong Stimuli

•Muscle force depends upon the number of fibers stimulated

•More fibers contracting results in greater muscle tension

•Muscles can continue to contract unless they run out of energy

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Energy for Muscle Contraction

•Initially, muscles use stored ATP for energy•ATP bonds are broken to release energy•Only 4–6 seconds worth of ATP is stored by muscles

•After this initial time, other pathways must be utilized to produce ATP

© 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. Figure 6.10a

© 2012 Pearson Education, Inc.

Energy for Muscle Contraction

•Aerobic respiration•Glucose is broken down to carbon dioxide and water, releasing energy (about 32 ATP)

•A series of metabolic pathways occur in the mitochondria

•This is a slower reaction that requires continuous oxygen

•Carbon dioxide and water are produced

© 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. Figure 6.10c

© 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. Figure 6.10b

© 2012 Pearson Education, Inc.

Muscle Fatigue and Oxygen Deficit

•When a muscle is fatigued, it is unable to contract even with a stimulus

•Common cause for muscle fatigue is oxygen debt

•Increasing acidity (from lactic acid) and lack of ATP causes the muscle to contract less

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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; rotating the arm

•Isometric contractions•Tension in the muscles increases•The muscle is unable to shorten or produce movement

•Example: push against a wall with bent elbows

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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

© 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. Figure 6.11a-b