BIO 2311 - Skeletal Muscle and Neurophysiology

Flashcards covering key vocabulary and concepts related to skeletal muscle anatomy, neurophysiology, and synaptic communication.

Epimysium

The outer layer of connective tissue that surrounds skeletal muscle.

Perimysium

The connective tissue layer that surrounds each fascicle within a muscle.

Endomysium

The connective tissue layer that wraps each muscle fiber.

Sarcoplasmic Reticulum

The specialized endoplasmic reticulum in muscle cells that stores calcium.

Sarcomere

The functional unit of a muscle fiber, defined from Z-line to Z-line.

Sliding filament theory

Theory explaining muscle contraction through the sliding of actin and myosin filaments.

Tropomyosin

A protein that blocks the active sites on actin filaments in a relaxed muscle.

ACh

Acetylcholine, a neurotransmitter released at the neuromuscular junction.

Action Potential

A rapid change in membrane potential that occurs when a neuron or muscle cell depolarizes.

Synapse

A functional junction between two neurons or between a neuron and a muscle cell.

EPSP (Excitatory Post-Synaptic Potential)

A synaptic potential that makes a neuron more likely to fire an action potential.

IPSP (Inhibitory Post-Synaptic Potential)

A synaptic potential that makes a neuron less likely to fire an action potential.

Saltatory conduction

The rapid propagation of action potentials along myelinated axons.

Neuromuscular junction

The synapse between a motor neuron and a skeletal muscle fiber.

Neurological Glia

Supportive cells in the nervous system that outnumber neurons.

Gated channels

Ion channels that open or close in response to signals or stimuli.

Repolarization

The process of returning the membrane potential to a resting state after depolarization.