10: Muscles

Peak Performance Term 1

How do muscles make movement in the body.

Through the interaction of bones, skeletal muscles, and joints. When skeletal muscles contract, they exert forces on tendons, which pull on the bones, causing joint movement.

Define smooth muscles

Involuntary muscles found in the walls of internal organs, such as the intestines and blood vessels, and are responsible for processes like digestion and blood flow regulation.

Define cardiac muscles

Specialised involuntary muscles found only in the heart, responsible for pumping blood throughout the body and maintaining a consistent heartbeat.

Define skeletal muscles

Voluntary muscles attached to bones that enable movement and are under conscious control, playing a crucial role in locomotion and posture.

Explain the function of postural muscles

Help maintain the body's posture and stability by supporting the spine and keeping the body upright during various activities.

How do muscles generate heat in the body

Through the process of cellular respiration during physical activity, as energy is produced and some of it is released as heat, helping to maintain body temperature (homeostasis).

Characteristics of skeletal muscles

• Attached to the bones

• Striated (Alternating light and dark bands)

• Contracts voluntarily

Characteristics of smooth muscles

• Found in the walls of hollow internal structures

• Non-striated

• Involuntary

Characteristics of cardiac muscles

• Forms the bulk of the heart wall

• Striated

• Involuntary

Definition of HOW muscles are controlled

All muscles are controlled by nerve stimuli and are fed by capillaries

Contractility is the ability of the muscle to…

shorten

Extensibility is the ability of the muscle to …

lengthen

Elasticity is the ability of the muscle to return to its ….

original size

Atrophy is the … of the muscle tissue

wasting

Hypertrophy is the … in size of muscle tissue

increase

Define flexion in joint movement

Decreasing the angle between two bones and shortening muscle length

Function of gastrocnemius muscle

involved in the movement of the lower leg and is important for activities like walking and running

Importance of antagonistic pairs in muscle movement

Allow for controlled movement and stability (as one muscle contracts, the other relaxes)