Muscular System Overview

These flashcards cover key concepts related to the structure, function, and disorders of the muscular system.

What are the three major types of muscle tissue?

Skeletal, Cardiac, and Smooth.

Which type of muscle tissue is striated and voluntary?

Skeletal muscle.

What characterizes cardiac muscle tissue?

It has intercalated disks and is involuntary.

Where is smooth muscle tissue typically found?

In the walls of hollow visceral structures such as the digestive tract and blood vessels.

What is the primary function of skeletal muscle?

To produce movement, maintain posture, and stabilize joints.

How do muscle fibers generate heat?

Through the breakdown of ATP during contractions.

What is a motor unit?

The combination of a motor neuron and the muscle cell or cells it innervates.

What role do motor neurons play in muscle contraction?

They transmit impulses to muscles, triggering contraction.

What is the sliding filament model?

It explains how muscles contract through the sliding of thick and thin myofilaments past each other.

What is the function of the neuromuscular junction?

It's the point of contact between a nerve ending and a muscle fiber, where the neurotransmitter acetylcholine is released.

What happens during muscle fatigue?

Strength of contraction decreases due to repeated stimulation without adequate rest.

What are isotonic contractions?

Contractions that produce movement at a joint by changing the length of the muscle.

Define isometric contractions.

Muscle contractions that increase tension without producing movement.

What is the primary effect of endurance training?

Increased muscle's ability to sustain moderate exercise over a long period.

Identify the two types of muscle fibers involved in skeletal muscle contractions.

Thick myofilaments (myosin) and thin myofilaments (actin).

What is the origin of a muscle?

The attachment of a muscle to the bone that remains stationary during contraction.

What type of contraction is essential for maintaining posture?

Tonic contraction.

What is muscular dystrophy?

A group of genetic diseases characterized by progressive weakness and degeneration of skeletal muscles.

What does myasthenia gravis affect?

an autoimmune disease that affects the communication between nerves and muscles, resulting in weakness.

What are the primary functions of the muscular system?

posture, heat and movement

When a prime mover contracts, what does its

antagonist do?

 A. also contracts

 B. relaxes

 C. both a and b

 D. stimulates ATP

B. relaxes

How does muscle function affect body

temperature?

Muscle function generates heat through contraction, helping to maintain body temperature.

The point of attachment that does not move

when the muscle contracts is the..?

origin of the muscle.

This muscle is located on the posterior or

back surface of the arm

 A. Biceps brachii

 B. Deltoid

 C. Triceps brachii

 D. Trapezius

c. triceps brachii

The movement that makes the angle between

two bones at their joint smaller than it was at

the beginning of the movement is called

 A. extension

 B. flexion

 C. adduction

 D. abduction

B. flexion

Define Dorsal flexion

Dorsal flexion is the movement that decreases the angle between the dorsum (top) of the foot and the front of the leg, effectively raising the toes toward the shin.

Define plantar flexion?

Plantar flexion is the movement that increases the angle between the sole of the foot and the back of the leg, effectively pointing the toes away from the shin.

What are the chewing muscles?

the masseter and the temporalis