Muscle

OverviewMyo-Mys-

Sarco-

Skeletal Muscle

• Striations• Elongated cells

• Attach to cover the skeleton• Power• Voluntary

skeletal, striated, voluntary

Cardiac Muscle

• Striated• Branched

• Heart• Involuntary• Gap junctions

cardiac, striated, involuntary

Smooth Muscle• No striations

• Walls of hollow visceral organs• Involuntary• Peristalsis

visceral, nonstriated, involuntary

Muscle Functions

#1: Producing Movement

– Skeletal = locomotion and manipulation– Cardiac = movement of blood through heart.– Smooth = squeezes substances through

organ tracts.

Muscle Functions

#2 Maintaining Posture

Muscle Functions

#3 Stabilizing Joints

Muscle Functions

#4 Generating Heat

Muscle Characteristics

#1 Excitability or Irritability

– Ability to receive and respond to a stimulus.

#2 Contractility

- Ability to shorten forcibly when stimulated

#3 Extensibility– Ability to stretch or extend

#4 Elasticity

Ability to resume resting length after being stretched