Chapter 9: The Muscle System

Chapter 9 is all about the Muscle System. This chapter can be a lot of memorizing! It helps me to remember the skeletal system; a lot of the names of muscles have the name of the bone in it! Prefixes such as sacro, myo, and mys all mean flesh aka muscle! So, during your exam you can use process of elimination by finding words you are already familiar with!

 There are 3 types of muscle tissues: skeletal, smooth, and cardiac. My blog this week is going to focus on these 3 types and break down there different characteristics. But first let’s talk a little bit about their similarities. Skeletal and smooth muscle cells are elongated and called muscle fibers. Actin and myosin are two kinds of myofilaments that are used in muscle contractions. There are also similar terminologies used in all muscle types. Sarcolemma is the muscle plasma membrane and sarcoplasm is the cytoplasm of a muscle cell.

Skeletal Muscle Tissue- This type of muscle tissue has striations and its voluntary. It can contract extremely fast but it also tries easily. This type of tissue is responsible for overall body movement. It is very adaptable and can handle a wide range of forces. Each muscle is a distinct organ with muscle tissue, blood vessels, nerve fibers, and also connective tissue.

Cardiac Muscle Tissue- Is found only in the heart, what a surprise being called cardiac muscle! This type of tissue is also striated like skeletal muscle.  This type of muscle tissue is involuntary (you don’t have to consciously make your heart pump). There are 54 sinoatrial nodes rhythmicity control and acts of the pacemaker in the heart. The central nervous system controls the rate of the heart pump.

Smooth Muscle Tissue- This type of tissue is found in the walls of hallow organs: stomach, urinary bladder, respiratory passages. This muscle’s main function is to force food and other substances through the internal body channels. This type of tissue is striated and is also involuntary, much like cardiac muscle tissue.

There are four main functional characteristics of muscle tissue: excitability/irritability (ability to receive and respond to stimuli), contractility (ability to shorten forcibly), extensibility (the ability to be stretched or extended), and elasticity (ability to recoil and resume the original resting length).

The muscle system can be a lot of information! So I suggest reviewing the muscles a little each day so when it comes to studying for the test, the muscle memorizing will already be done! 

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