Coverings of Muscles

What is fascia?

Fascia is dense irregular connective tissue that covers muscle.

What are the three layers of fascia that cover muscle?

1. Epimysium - covers the entire muscle.

2. Perimysium - covers the fascicle (bundle of muscle fibers).

3. Endomysium - covers individual muscle fibers.

What is contained within the fascicle?

The fascicle contains muscle fibers and myofibrils (subunits of the muscle fibers).

What are the two types of muscle attachments?

1. Indirect attachment (via tendon).

2. Direct attachment (via periosteum).

What is a tendon?

A tendon is made of dense regular connective tissue and connects muscle to bone.

Example:

Calcaneal tendon (Achilles tendon).

What is the periosteum?

The periosteum is a dense layer of connective tissue that covers bones.

In direct attachment, the epimysium of the muscle connects to the periosteum of the bone via Sharpey fibers.

What is an aponeurosis?

An aponeurosis is a broad, flat sheet of dense regular connective tissue that connects muscles to other structures.

Example: Epicranial aponeurosis.

What is a retinaculum?

A retinaculum is a band of connective tissue that surrounds tendons, holding them in place.

What are ligaments?

Ligaments are dense regular connective tissues that connect bone to bone.

How does direct attachment between muscle and bone work?

In direct attachment, the epimysium of the muscle connects to the periosteum of the bone via Sharpey fibers.

What are series elastic components?

Series elastic components refer to all the connective tissue sheaths (epimysium, perimysium, endomysium, tendons, etc.) that are continuous with each other. They transmit pulling forces and help return the muscle to its resting length.