MONIQUE MAVRONICOLAS MUSCULAR SKELETAL SYSTEM

The main function of the muscular skeletal system is the responsibility of movement,
protection and shape in the human body. The muscular system however has 2
additional functions which is the movement/transport of substances inside the body and
the last function of the muscular system is the generation of body heat.
The skeletal muscle attaches to the skeletal system and consist of almost 700 named
muscles. All of which consists of blood vessels, skeletal muscle tissue, nerves and
tendons. Within the human body, one finds muscles tissue inside of the heart, digestive
organs and within these organs the muscles serve to transfer materials throughout the
body.
The muscle tissues can be divided into three different types, namely visceral, cardiac,
and skeletal.

The visceral muscle is the feeblest of all muscle tissue and is found within organs
such as the intestines, blood vessels and stomach. The muscles are responsible
for contraction within the structure enabling it to transfer substances through the
structure. Due to their function they are controlled by the unconscious part of the
human brain and is therefore know as an involuntary muscle.

Cardiac muscle are only found within the heart and is responsible for pumping
blood throughout the body. As with visceral muscles, cardiac muscles cannot be
controlled consciously and is therefore also known as involuntary muscles.

The only voluntary muscle tissue in the human body is connected to the skeletal
muscles, all of which is controlled consciously. Skeletal muscles functions by
contracting and moving parts of the body, nearer to the specific bone that th the
muscle attaches to.

The focus of the rest of the paper will be on specific criteria that focuses only on the
muscular skeletal system. Each of the topics will be discuss in the same order as the
student checklist.
Determinants of movement available at a joint.
The joints in the body are all different and are structured in such a way that they either
permit specific kind of movements and/or prevent movements. The amount of
movement in the joint depends largely on the shape of the bones, the type of joint,
connected ligaments, the muscles and the tendons all associated with the joint. Each
joint allows specific type of movement which is distinctive to the joints characteristics.
As previously mentioned the degree of movement will depend on the type of joint and
they could be divided into four main categories by means of their connection to the
adjacent bones, namely cartilaginous joints, fibrous joints, synovial joints and bony
joints.
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Fibrous Joints the bones in these joints are literally joined together by collagen
fibers.

Cartilaginous joints where two bones are connected by cartilage. Figure 1.1
(displays the cartilaginous joints and the way they are formed when two bones
are joined by cartilage and the different types of

Figure 1.1 Cartilaginous joints include synchondroses and symphases

(https://html1-f.scribdassets.com/gghgttqtc23xp4y/images/70-5aa5f32ad4.jpg)

Bony joints Also known as synostoses is when two bones fuse together due to
aging.
Synovial joints the bones in these joints are separate and has synovial fluid that
lubricates the bones by
cushioning them. Figure 1.2
indicates the 6 different freely
movable joints and includes
some of the locations within the
body where these joints are
located.

Figure 1.2 Different types of

synovial joints
(https://html2-f.scribdassets.com/gghgttqtc23xp4y/images/72-5ff35b5070.jpg)
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MONIQUE MAVRONICOLAS MUSCULAR SKELETAL SYSTEM

Origins and insertions of muscles to skeleton

Origins and insertions with regards to the muscular skeletal system refers to the position
where the muscle is fixed to and where the muscle moves when contracting. Where the
muscle attached to the skeleton (often ends by tendons) and doesnt move during a
contraction it would be referred to as the origin, whilst where the muscle is attached to
the site where movement happens during a contracting its referred to as insertion.
Three specific examples of muscles in the body indicating their origins and insertions
with hand drawn diagrams (see Table 1.1) as illustrated below.
Muscle
Deltoid

Origin
Spine of

Insertion
Upper part of

Movement / Action
Extension, lateral

scapula and

humerus

rotation, clavicle and

Clavicle

flexion and medial

rotation of arm

Gluteus maximus

Rear part of

Top of femur

pelvis,

Extension and lateral

rotation of leg

sacrum and
coccyx

Pectoralis major

Sternum,

Upper front

Adduction, flexion

clavicle and

area of

and medial rotation of

1st-6th ribs

humerus

arm

Table 1.1 Origins and insertions of the deltoids, major pectoral and gluteus
maximus.
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Muscle contractions
When a muscle contracts there is tension in the muscle fibers pulling the muscle
shorter, there are 2 different ways that muscles can contract:

Isometric: when one attempts to push or pull a fixed object and no movement
takes place due to the tension from the contracting muscle is less than the load
the muscle is getting.
Isotonic: when one push or pull and object and actual movement takes place due
to the tension within the muscle that is greater than the load on the muscle.
There are 2 parts of isotonic contractions.
o Concentric when the muscle shortens in an opposite load, these actions
are responsible for starting movement
o Eccentric when the muscle lengthens as its working against the load
these actions are responsible for slowing the movement or activity down
For example, during running, the quadriceps muscles will push the
runner forward with concentric actions, while the hamstring muscles
can brake the forward movement by slowing down the running.

The best way to illustrate the differences in the muscle contraction is by illustration (see
Figure 1.3).

Figure 1.3 Muscle contractions care of Muscles Contraction Step diagrams

(http://galleryhip.com/muscle-contraction-steps-diagram.html)
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In order to understand cross bridge formation within contractions, one needs to

understand the muscle cells. A single muscle fiber is made up of many myofibrils, which
in turn contains many sarcomeres. The sarcomeres consists of two filaments, thick and
thin. The thick filaments consists of many myosin molecules pushed together with their
heads facing out (see Figure 1.4 below), each of these heads contain ATPase. Whereas
thin filament otherwise known as Actin is made up out of two strands that looks like
beads linked together. These beads are basically the binding site for the heads. (see
Figure 1.5)

Figure 1.4 Illustration of myosin molecule in the thick filament (Widmaier et al

2003)

Figure 1.5 Illustration of thin filament (Widmaier et al 2003)

When one has a concentric contraction (or the shortening of the muscle) the muscle is
stimulated by a motor neuron. Calcium ions is released and binds with troponin. The
actin and myosin cross-bridges can now form and the myosin head lifts towards the
actin binding site. As the APT releases the energy the ATPase reacts and the crossbridge swivel. This happens over and over at an extremely fast pace as the Actin is
pulled over the Myosin and the muscle shortens (see Figure 1.6). As soon as
stimulation stops, the calcium ions are removed and the muscle goes back to its normal
resting length.

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Figure 1.6 Cross-bridge muscle contraction cycle (www.boundless.com)

Skeletal Muscle fiber types

The muscle tissue of the skeletal system is made to either relax or contract by an aware
or controlled movement. There are three different types of skeletal muscle fiber based
on their different functional and structural characteristics, which include their difference
in color (due to the amount of myoglobin), the speed they contract at how fast they get
tired. There are three determinates of how many of each muscle types within the body
namely; genetics, hormone levels within the blood and last but not least training
undertaken by the individual.

Type I of the three types of muscles these are the slowest twitching muscles.
With huge amounts of myoglobin these slow twitching muscles are red in color
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and are able to produce constant low-level contractions. Due to these

characteristics these muscles are often postural muscles due to their endurance
capabilities. Marathon runners have a high number of this type of fiber which is
due to a combination of genetics and training.
Type II a this type of muscle is made up of type l and type ll fibers. They are red
in color due to the high number of myoglobin and mitochondria. They produce
fast strong muscles by making use of both metabolisms (anaerobic and aerobic)
to split and manufacture ATP. They unfortunately tire more quickly that Type l
fibers. Athletes that run middle distances (1500m), have a high number of these
type of muscle fibers.
Type ll b due to the low level of myoglobin these fibers are white in color. These
muscles tire extremely quickly and are often found in sprinters and body builders
but also in large quantities in the arms. Due to the rate they produce ATP (very
slow) and then breaking that ATP down extremely quickly, its outcomes are short,
fast spurts of power.

Fibre Type

Type I Fibres

Type II a Fibres

Type II b Fibres

Contraction speed

Slow

Fast

Very Fast

Motor neuron

Small

Large

Very Large

Fighting to fatigue

High

Intermediate

Low

Activities

Endurance Marathons

Short, high intensity

swimming 800m or
running 1500m

Very short maximal

intensity body
building, sprinters

Force production

Low

High

Very High

Efficiency

High

Medium

Low

Number of Mitochondria

High

Medium

Low

Capillary density

High

Intermediate

Low

Oxidative capacity

High

Intermediate

Low

Myoglobin content

High

Medium

Low

Glycolytic capacity

Low

High

High

ATPase levels

Low

Intermediate

High

Table 1.3 - Table of Muscle Fibre Characteristics

Antagonistic pairs

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Due to muscles only being able to pull and not push, they often need to work in pairs to
complement each other or basic movements wouldnt be possible. The hinge joint in the
elbow allows an up or down movement in the arm, this however requires muscles to
enable the actual arm to be lifted. In order for this to happen the bicep (prime mover)
needs to contract but if the bicep contracts the triceps (antagonist) need to relax,
otherwise the movement isnt possible. These two muscles are known as an
antagonistic pair. There are a couple of antagonistic pairs of muscle within the body
that allows specific movements. The table below (Table 1.4) lists the agonist, antagonist
and an example of a completed movement.
Agonist
Biceps

Antagonist
Triceps

Deltoids

Latissimus Dorsi

Pectoralis Major

Trapezius/Rhomboids

Rectus Abdominis
Quadriceps

Erector Spinae
Hamsrtings

Movement
Lifting the hand from a
hanging position to
touching the shoulder
Reaching backwards and
throwing a ball underarm
Lowering arm towards
body if extended over head
Back extensions
Lifting the leg/knee
upwards off the floor

Table 1.4 Antagonistic muscle pairs

Protection of organs
The table below (Table 1.5) indicates the bones and the organs they protect.
Bones
Cranium
Ribs and Sternum
Pelvic Girdle

Organs
Brain
Heart and Lungs
Intestines

References

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MONIQUE MAVRONICOLAS MUSCULAR SKELETAL SYSTEM

Gregory Stewart (2004). The Skeletal and Muscular System. New York: Chelsea House.
68-72.
Muscle Origin and Insertion: Definition and Actions available at
http://study.com/academy/lesson/muscle-origin-and-insertion-definition-and-actions.html
accessed on 11 March 2015
Key mussel locations and movements available at http://www.ptdirect.com/trainingdesign/anatomy-and-physiology/key-muscle-locations-and-actions accessed at 11
March 2015

Widmaier, Eric P., Raff, Hershel, Strang, Kevin T (2003). Vander, Sherman, Luciano's
Human Physiology: The Mechanisms of Body . Tx: Mcgraw-Hill
ATP and Muscle contraction available at
https://www.boundless.com/biology/textbooks/boundless-biology-textbook/themusculoskeletal-system-38/muscle-contraction-and-locomotion-218/atp-and-musclecontraction-826-12069/ accessed on 17 March 2015
Muscle fiber type available at http://www.teachpe.com/anatomy/fibre_types.php
accessed on 17 March 2015
Muscle types available at http://www.brianmac.co.uk/muscle.htm accessed on 17 March
2015
Skeletal Muscle Anatomy and Fibre Types available at
http://www.ptdirect.com/training-design/anatomy-and-physiology/skeletal-muscle2013-anatomy-and-fiber-types accessed on 17 March 2015

Antagonistic Muscle available at

http://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/ks3/science/organisms_behaviour_health/life_processes/r
evision/8/ accessed on 17 March 2015

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