Components of Skeletal Muscle and Muscle Roles

Vocabulary flashcards covering the components of skeletal muscle and functional muscle roles during body movements.

Tendon

A band of dense regular connective tissue that anchors a muscle to a bone.

Muscle belly

The fleshy, contractile central portion of a skeletal muscle situated between its points of attachment.

Fascicle

A discrete bundle of skeletal muscle fibers wrapped together by a layer of perimysium.

Muscle fiber

An individual, elongated skeletal muscle cell.

Epimysium

An external sheath of dense connective tissue that surrounds the entire skeletal muscle.

Perimysium

The layer of connective tissue that encases and groups individual muscle fibers into fascicles.

Endomysium

A thin layer of connective tissue that encloses each individual skeletal muscle fiber.

Origin

The skeletal muscle attachment site on the stationary or less movable bone during muscle contraction.

Insertion

The skeletal muscle attachment site on the movable bone that is pulled toward the origin during contraction.

Prime mover

The primary muscle directly responsible for generating a specific movement or action (also called an agonist).

Antagonist

A muscle that opposes or reverses the action of a prime mover.

Synergist

A muscle that assists the prime mover by contributing additional force or reducing unnecessary movement.

Fixator

A specialized synergist that immobilizes a bone or a muscle's origin to provide a stable base for movement.