The human body contains more than 650 individual muscles which are attached to the skeleton, which

provides the pulling power for us to move around. The main job of the muscular system is to provide movement for the body. The muscular system consist of three different types of muscle tissues : skeletal, cardiac, smooth. Each of these different tissues has the ability to contract, which then allows body movements and functions. There are two types of muscles in the system and they are the involuntary muscles, and the voluntary muscles. The muscle in which we are allow to control by ourselves are called the voluntary muscles and the ones we can? control are the involuntary muscles. The heart, or the cardiac muscle, is an example of involuntary muscle. CARDIAC MUSCLE: The cardiac muscles is the muscle of the heart itself. The cardiac muscle is the tissue that makes up the wall of the heart called the mydocardium. Also like the skeletal muscles, the cardiac muscle is striated and contracts through the sliding filament method. However it is different from other types of muscles because it forms branching fibers. Unlike the skeletal muscles, the cardiac muscle is attached together instead of been attach to a bone. SKELETAL MUSCLE: The skeletal muscle makes up about 40 % of an adults body weight. It has stripe-like markings, or striations. The skeletal muscles is composed of long muscle fibers. Each of these muscles fiber is a cell which contains several nuclei. The nervous system controls the contraction of the muscle. Many of the skeletal muscle contractions are automatic. However we still can control the action of the skeletal muscle. And it is because of this reason that the skeletal muscle is also called voluntary muscle. SMOOTH MUSCLE: Much of our internal organs is made up of smooth muscles. They are found in the urinary bladder, gallbladder, arteries, and veins. Also the digestive tract is made up of smooth muscle as well. The smooth muscles are controlled by the nervous system and hormones. We cannot consciously control the smooth muscle that is why they are often called involuntary muscles.

Pectoral Muscles
The pectoral is a term relating to the chest. The "pectoralis major" is a large, fan-shaped muscle that covers much of the front upper chest. It begins at the breastbone (sternum) and the cartilage of the second to the sixth ribs and is attached to the collarbone (clavicle) to converge on the upper arm bone (humerus) just below the shoulder. Its main use is in moving the arm across the body. The "pectoralis minor" is a smaller, triangular muscle beneath the pectoralis major. It stems from the third to fifth ribs and converges at the shoulder blade (scapula), which it moves up and down.

Abductor Muscles
Abduction refers to movement of a limb away from the central line of the body or of a digit away from the axis of a limb. Muscles, then, that carry out this type of movement are called "abductor muscles."

Adductor Longus
The adductor longus is a long, triangular muscle that runs from the pubic bone to the femur. It functions to adduct, or move the thigh inward, and assists in flexing and rotating it to the side.

Biceps Brachii
Some muscles have more than one origin (immovable end) or insertion (movable end). The "biceps brachii" in the upper arm, for example, has two origins. This is shown in its name, "biceps," which means "two heads." It is attached to the scapula (shoulderblade) in two places and extends along the front surface of the humerus (upper arm bone). It is inserted by means of a tendon on the largest part of the radius (lower arm bone). When it contracts, the movable end is pulled toward the origin, and the arm bends at the elbow.

Brachialis
The brachialis is a large muscle beneath the biceps brachii. It connects the shaft of the humerus (upper arm bone) to the ulna (longest) forearm bone) and is the strongest flexor of the elbow.

Brachioradalis Muscle
The brachioradalis connects the humerus (upper arm bone) to the radius (shortest lower arm bone) and aids in flexing the elbow.

Sternocleidomastoid Muscle
The sternocleidomastoid is a long muscle in the side of the neck that extends up from the thorax to the base of the skull behind the ear. When the sternocleidomastoid on one side contracts, the face is turned to the opposite side. When both muscles contract, the head is bent toward the chest. If the immovable end is fixed in position by other muscles, it can raise the sternum (breastbone) - an action which aids in forceful inhalation of a

Muscle Cell Types

There are three types of muscle tissue: .

1. skeletal (or voluntary/striated) muscle, the most abundant

tissue in the human body, producing movement. Each skeletal-muscle fiber is roughly cylindrical, contains many nuclei, and is crossed by alternating light and dark bands called striations. Fibers bind together, via connective tissue, into bundles; and these bundles, in turn, bind together to form muscles. Thus, skeletal muscles are composite structures composed of many muscle fibers, nerves, blood vessels, and connective tissue. Skeletal muscles are controlled by the somatic nervous system (SNS). smooth (or visceral) muscle, forming the muscle layers in the walls of the digestive tract, bladder, various ducts, arteries and veins, and other internal organs. Smooth- muscle cells are elongated and thin, not striated, have only one nucleus, and interlace to form sheets rather than bundles of muscles. Smooth muscle is controlled by theautonomic nervous system (ANS). cardiac (or heart) muscle, a cross between the smooth and striated muscles, comprising the heart tissue. Like smooth muscle, it is innervated by the autonomic nervous system (ANS).

Skeletal muscle

2.

3.

Smooth muscle

Each of more than 600 muscles is served by nerves which link the muscle to the brain and spinal cord.

Cardiac muscle

Musculoskeletal System
The musculoskeletal system consists of the skeletal system -- bones and joints (union of two or more bones) -- and the skeletal muscle system (voluntary or striated muscles). These two systems work together to provide basic functions that are essential to life, including: Protection: protects the brain and internal organs Support: maintains upright posture Blood cell formation: hematopoiesis Mineral homeostasis Storage: stores fat and minerals. Leverage: A lever is a simple machine that magnifies speed of movement or force. The levers are mainly the long bones of the body and the axes are the joints where the bones meet.

Tissues
There are 5 basic tissues comprising the musculoskeletal system: Detail views:

elbow ligament skeletal muscular

1. bones, 2. ligaments (attaching bone to bone) 3. cartilage (protective gel-like subtance lining 4. 5.
the joints and intervertebral discs), skeletal muscles, and tendons (attaching muscle to bone).

view

view

view Schematic representation of the typical arrangement of musculoskeletal tissues

Each of these contains various combinations of 4 connective tissue building blocks: fibroblasts - the "mother" cell, producing the other 3 connective tissue components. collagen - the principal protein manufactured by the fibroblast. Organized into various configurations, these long, thin fibers intertwine to form very strong fibers which do NOT stretch. elastic fibers - highly elastic fibers, unlike collagen, particularly abundant in the walls of arteries. proteoglycans - the "ground substance," or "matrix," in which fibroblasts, collagen, and elastic fibers reside.

How We Move
Skeletal muscles, attached to bone by tendons, produce movement by bending the skeleton at movable joints. The connecting tendon closest to the body or head is called the proximal attachment: this is termed the origin of the muscle. The other end, the distal attachment, is called the insertion. During contraction, the origin remains stationary and the insertion moves. The force producing the bending is always exerted as a pull by contraction, thus making the muscle shorter: Muscles cannot actively push. Reversing the direction in which a joint bends is produced by contracting a different set of muscles. For example, when one group of muscles contracts, an antagonistic group stretches, exerting an opposing pull, ready to reverse the direction of movement. The contracting unit is the muscle fiber. Muscle fibers consist of two main protein strands actin and myosin. Where the strands overlap, the fiber appears dark. Where they do not overlap, the fiber appears light. These alternating bands of light and dark give skeletal muscle its characterisitc striated appearance. The trigger which starts contraction comes from the motor nerve attached to each muscle fiber at the motor end plate.

Acetylcholine is released at the motor end plate when the electrical impulse reaches the muscle fiber. As it binds to receptors on the surface of the muscle cells, it causes the electrical impulse to be transmitted in both directions along the fiber, activating the actin and myosin strands. The strands slide past each other to flex, or to shorten, the fiber, thus producing contraction.

Muscles by Name
Click on the body regions and front/back views to see greater detail
Graphics modified from: The InnerBody: Anatomy Tutorials - Muscle System.

Muscle Regions
(Master Muscle List) Back Upper Limb Head and Neck Thorax Abdomen Pelvis and Perineum Lower Limb

Muscles Names
Alphabetical Order Test yourself: Interactiv e Tutorial

(Front View)

(Back View)

Muscles by Function
Each muscle has its own special name. Muscles, however, are also described by their function. Muscles that bend a limb are flexors; those which straighten a limb are extensors (e.g. elbow flexors and elbow extensors.) Muscles which move a limb to the side, away from the body, are abductors; those which move

a limb sideways toward the body are adductors (e.g. hip abductors and hip adductors.) Other functional groups are elevators, depressors, rotators, doriflexors, planar flexors, and palmar flexors.

Motions and Functions Available at Different Levels of Spinal Cord Injury

Source: Class notes for UNCG's CSD 500 Diagnostic Procedures: Inquiry, Observation and Measurement: "Cognitive and Motor Development Screening" With permission from Mariana Newton, Instructor.

First Year Good head balance Reaches for object Transfers objects from hand to hand Sitting at 6 months Pulls to standing at 9-10 months Cruises furniture Takes first steps

18-24 months Opens a small box Marks with a pencil Seats self in small chair Points Feeds self with spoon Places square and circle in formboard Builds a 3 block tower

24-36 months Turns pages of a book Scribbles with pencil Makes tower of 7 blocks Completes 3 piece formboard Kicks ball Walks and runs fairly well Toilet training, with assistance

3-4 years Imitates drawings of circle and cross Builds 10 block tower Imitates building of 4 block train Imitates 3 block bridge Achieving toilet independence Hand dominance Stands on one foot momentarily

4 years Stands heel to toe 15 sec., eyes closed Performs finger to nose well, eyes closed Hops in place on both feet 7/5 sec.

5 years Balances on tiptoe for 10 sec. Hops 15 feet on one foot Parts lips and clenches teeth, no overflow

6 years

7 years

8 years

Balances on one foot for 10 sec. Hits target (10 sq. in.) with ball from 5 feet Jumps over rope 8 inches high

Balances on tiptoes 10 sec., bending at hips Walks straight line, heel to toe for 6 feet

Maintains crouched position on tiptoes for 10 sec., arms extended and eyes closed Touches fingertips of one hand successively with thumb starting with little finger and repeating in reverse order

To Learn More
Acknowledgments: Web resources: CID-David: Online Atlas of Human Anatomy - Muscles The InnerBody: Anatomy Tutorials Muscles Maricopa: Muscular and Skeletal Systems Visible Human Project See related: o PATTS "Significant Body Systems" - Skeletal System o PATTS "Significant Body Systems" - Nervous System o Brain/Motor Interaction o Nerve/Muscle Connection

1. Joel DeLisa and Walter C. Stolov, "Significant

Body Systems," in: Handbook of Severe Disability, edited by Walter C. Stolov and Michael R. Clowers. US Department of Education, Rehabilitation Services Administration, 1981, pages 41-45. Catherine Parker Anthony and Gary A. Thibodeau, Textbook of Anatomy & Physiology. St. Louis: Mosby, 1983, pages 498-548. Mariana Newton, Professor emeritus, UNCG Department of Communication Science and Disorders Superficial Muscles Tutorial by Dr. J. Crimando, GateWay Community College, Phoenix, AZ.

2. 3. 4.

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PATTS, Last update: October 2000, Maintained by Lane Price Rose