Chapter 8

MUSCULAR SYSTEM

OBJECTIVES:
At the end of the topic, the students will be able to:
A. describe the microscopic structures of skeletal muscle;
B. classify skeletal muscle;
C. identify the human muscles and their functions;

Skeletal muscle is the bulk of body’s muscle because it is attached to the skeleton.
Importance of Skeletal Muscle:
1. influences body shape,
2. allows us to grin and frown,
3. provides a means of getting around, and
4. enables us to manipulate the environment.
Smooth muscle and cardiac muscle make up the remainder of the body’s muscle. Smooth
muscle is the major component of the walls of hollow organs. Cardiac muscle forms the
walls of the heart. Smooth and cardiac muscle are involved with the transport of materials
within the body.
The term muscular system applies specifically to skeletal muscle.

Cells Of Skeletal Muscle:

1. relatively large, cylindrical cells,
2. ranging 25 or 30 cm in length (10–12 in.), that can be seen with the naked eye
3. multinucleated; multiple oval nuclei can be seen just beneath the plasma
membrane (called the sarcolemma in these cells).
4. longitudinally arranged myofibrils pushed to the side
5. alternating light (I) and dark (A) bands along the length of the perfectly aligned
myofibrils give the muscle fiber as a whole its striped appearance.
6. myofilaments are smaller threadlike structures myofibrils
- myofilaments are composed largely of two varieties of contractile proteins—actin
(thin) and myosin (thick)—which slide past each other during muscle activity to
bring about shortening or contraction

sarcolemma
Figure 8.1 Muscle cell

Organization of Skeletal Muscle Cells into Muscles:

1. Endomysium
2. Perimysium
3. Fascicle
Muscle fibers, which are soft and fragile, are bundled together with connective tissue to form
skeletal muscles.(Figure 8.2.a, 8.2.b). Each muscle fiber is enclosed in a delicate connective
tissue sheath called endomysium. Several sheathed muscle fibers are wrapped by a
collagenic membrane called perimysium, forming a fiber bundle called a fascicle. Large
numbers of fascicles are bound together by a substantially coarser “overcoat” of dense
connective tissue called an epimysium, which encloses the entire muscle. These epimysia
blend into strong cordlike tendons or sheetlike aponeuroses, which attach muscles to each
other or indirectly to bones. A muscle’s more movable attachment is called its insertion,
whereas its fixed (or immovable) attachment is the origin. In addition to supporting and
binding the muscle fibers— and strengthening the muscle as a whole and its attachment to
the tendon—the connective tissue wrappings provide a route for the entry and exit of
nerves and blood vessels that serve the muscle fibers

Figure 8.2.a fascicle

Neuromuscular junction
- Skeletal muscle cells are always stimulated by motor neurons via nerve impulses.
- Neuromuscular, or myoneural, junction - the junction between a nerve fiber (axon) and a
muscle cell (Figure 8.3).
- Axon terminals - motor axon that breaks up into many branches as it nears the muscle,
and each branch forms a neuromuscular junction with a single muscle cell. A single neuron
may stimulate many muscle fibers.
- Motor unit - functional structure composed of a neuron and all the -- muscle cells it
stimulates (Figure 8.4).
- The neuron and muscle fiber membranes, close as they are, do not actually touch. They
are separated by a small fluid-filled gap called the synaptic cleft (Figure 8.3).
- Within axon terminals are mitochondria and vesicles containing neurotransmitter
chemical called acetylcholine.

synaptic cleft

Figure 8.3. Neuromuscular junction

Figure 8.4

Classification of Skeletal Muscles (Naming Skeletal Muscles):

1. Direction of muscle fibers. Some muscles are named relative to some imaginary
line, usually the midline of the body or the longitudinal axis of a limb bone. rectus,
transverse, and oblique indicate that the muscle fibers run with, at right angles, or
 obliquely (respectively) to the imaginary line. Figure 8.5 show how muscle structure
is determined by fascicle arrangement
Ex. rectus abdominis - straight muscle of the abdomen
2. Relative size of the muscle. as maximus (largest), minimus (smallest), longus
(long), and brevis (short) are often used
Ex. gluteus maximus and gluteus minimus.
3. Location of the muscle. named for the bone with which they are associated. Ex.
temporalis muscle overlies the temporal bone.
4. Number of origins. biceps, triceps, or quadriceps forms part of a muscle name: has
two, three, or four origins (respectively).
Ex. biceps brachii muscle of the arm has two origins.
5. Location of the muscle’s origin and insertion.
Ex. sternocleidomastoid muscle has its origin on mastoid process of the temporal
bone.
6. Shape of the muscle. deltoid muscle is roughly triangular (deltoid = triangle), and
the trapezius muscle resembles a trapezoid.
7. Action of the muscle. adductor muscles of the anterior thigh bring about its
adduction.

Types of Muscles:
Body movements involve the coordinated action of several muscles acting together. 1.
prime movers, or agonists - muscles that are primarily responsible for producing a
particular movement
2. antagonists - muscles that oppose or reverse a movement
When a prime mover is active, the fibers of the antagonist are stretched and relaxed.
3.Synergists aid the action of prime movers by reducing undesirable or unnecessary
movement.
Ex. make a fist without bending the wrist only because synergist muscles stabilize the
wrist joint and allow the prime mover to exert its force at the finger joints.
4. Fixators, or fixation muscles – specialized synergists; immobilize the origin of a
prime mover so that all the tension is exerted at the insertion. Muscles that help
maintain posture and those that “fix” the scapula during arm movements
are fixators

Convergent (Pectoralis major) Circular (Orbicularis oris)

 Bipennate (Rectus femoris) Multipennate (deltoid)

Fusiform (Biceps brachii) unipennate

(parallel) sartorius

Figure 8.5. Patterns of fascicle arrangement in muscles

 Figure 8.6. Anterior view of superficial muscles of the body
The abdominal surface has been partially dissected on the
left side of the body to show somewhat deeper muscles.

LABEL the above structures using the following:

A. Facial
• Temporalis • Orbicularis oris • Orbicularis oculi
• Frontalis . Masseter • Zygomaticus
 B. Neck F. Shoulder
• Platysma • Trapezius
• Sternocleidomastoid • Deltoid

C. Thorax G. Arm
• Pectoralis major • Triceps brachii
• Pectoralis minor • Biceps brachii
• Serratus anterior • Brachialis
• Intercostals

D. Abdomen H. Forearm
• External oblique • Pronator teres
• Rectus abdominis • Brachioradialis
• Internal oblique • Flexor carpi radialis
• Transversus abdominis

E.Thigh Thigh (Quadriceps) Pelvis/thigh

• Sartorius • Rectus femoris • Iliopsoas
• Adductor muscle • Vastus lateralis
• Gracilis • Vastus medialis

E. Leg
• Gastrocnemius • Fibularis longus • Tibialis anterior
• Soleus • Extensor digitorum longus

POSTERIOR View, Superficial Muscles: Locate the structures in Figure 8.7

Neck Arm
• Brachialis • Triceps brachii
• Occipitalis • Brachialis
• Sternocleidomastoid
• Trapezius

Shoulder/Back – Deltoid; Latissimus dorsi Forearm

• Brachioradialis
Hip • Extensor carpi radialis longus
• Gluteus medius • Flexor carpi ulnaris
• Gluteus maximus • Flexor carpi ulnaris
• Extensor digitorum
Thigh
• Adductor muscle . Iliotibial tract
. Hamstrings –
- Biceps femoris
- Semitendinosus
- Semimembranosus

Leg
• Gastrocnemius
• Soleus
• Fibularis longus
. Calcaneal (Achilles) tendon
 Figure 8.7 Posterior view of superficial muscles of the body

From Figure 8.8 (below) Head Left lateral view, show the following parts: (SEE the part 2)
epicranus frontalis cranial aponeurosis orbicularis oculi
orbicularis oris occipitalis temporalis
zygomaticus masseter sternocleidomastoid
trapezius platysma buccinator