Muscle Types

Skeletal Muscle

• Location: These muscles attach to your bones (skeleton) using tendons.

• Function: Responsible for voluntary movement (you control them consciously, like walking or lifting).

• How they work: They work in pairs—one muscle contracts (shortens) while the other lengthens.

Smooth Muscle

• Location: Found in certain internal organs like the stomach and intestines.

• Function: Moves substances like food through the body slowly, using a process called peristalsis.

• Control: These muscles are involuntary (automatic—you don’t consciously control them).

Cardiac Muscle

• Location: Found only in the heart.

• Structure: It is branched and layered and combines features of other muscle types.

• Control: Works involuntarily (not under conscious control) to pump blood throughout the body.