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Muscles are pieces of soft tissue that are found throughout the body. They allow us to move by contracting and relaxing. This movement is controlled by the brain, which sends electrical signals to the muscles through the spinal cord and peripheral nerves. There are two types of muscle movement: voluntary and involuntary. Voluntary movements are actions that we choose to perform, such as jumping in the air or chewing our food. Involuntary movements are those that we cannot actively control, such as keeping our hearts pumping or moving food through our guts.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| How muscles move | Muscles contract to generate movement |
| What muscles move | Skeletal muscles are voluntary and move when you think about moving that part of the body |
| Cardiac muscle (myocardium) makes up the middle layers of the heart and beats on its own without your input | |
| Smooth muscles are involuntary muscles that line the inside of some organs | |
| How muscles are controlled | The motor cortex sends an electrical signal through the spinal cord and peripheral nerves to the muscles, causing them to contract |
| The motor cortex on the right side of the brain controls the muscles on the left side of the body and vice versa | |
| The cerebellum coordinates the muscle movements ordered by the motor cortex | |
| Sensors in the muscles and joints send messages back through peripheral nerves to tell the cerebellum and other parts of the brain where and how the arm or leg is moving and what position it's in | |
| What muscles need to move | Muscles need signals from our brains and energy from our food to contract and move |
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What You'll Learn
Muscles contract to generate movement
There are two types of muscle movement: voluntary and involuntary. Voluntary movements are actions that we control. We use our nervous system to control these movements. For example, we consciously move our limbs, jump in the air, and chew our food.
Involuntary movements are actions that happen without our input. For example, the heart is an involuntary muscle that beats on its own. Smooth muscles are also involuntary. They line the inside of some organs and do essential jobs like moving waste through the intestines and helping the lungs expand when we breathe.
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Skeletal muscles are voluntary
Our muscles move our bodies by contracting. They use energy from our food to produce movement. Muscles allow us to consciously move our limbs, jump in the air, and chew our food.
However, muscles are also responsible for many more processes that we cannot actively control, such as keeping our hearts pumping, moving food through our guts, and even making us blush.
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Smooth muscles are involuntary
Muscles are pieces of soft tissue that help us move, breathe, swallow and stay alive. They contract to generate movement and use energy from our food to produce movement. They allow us to consciously move our limbs, jump in the air, and chew our food. But they are also responsible for many more processes that we cannot actively control, such as keeping our hearts pumping, moving food through our guts, and even making us blush.
There are two types of muscle movements: voluntary and involuntary. Voluntary movements are actions that we control. We choose to perform an action and our muscles move our body to make it happen. We use our nervous system to control these movements. Skeletal muscles are voluntary and move when we think about moving that part of the body. Some muscle fibres contract quickly and use short bursts of energy (fast-twitch muscles). Others move slowly, like our back muscles that help with posture.
Smooth muscles, on the other hand, are involuntary. They line the inside of some organs and do essential jobs like moving waste through our intestines and helping our lungs expand when we breathe. Our heart is also an involuntary muscle. It beats on its own without our input and squeezes and relaxes to pump blood through our cardiovascular system.
The motor cortex sends an electrical signal through the spinal cord and peripheral nerves to the muscles, causing them to contract. The motor cortex on the right side of the brain controls the muscles on the left side of the body and vice versa. The cerebellum coordinates the muscle movements ordered by the motor cortex. Sensors in the muscles and joints send messages back through peripheral nerves to tell the cerebellum and other parts of the brain where and how the arm or leg is moving and what position it's in. This feedback results in smooth, coordinated motion.
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Muscles are controlled by the nervous system
There are two types of muscle movement: voluntary and involuntary. Voluntary movements are actions that we control. We use our nervous system to control these movements. For example, we use our nervous system to consciously move our limbs, jump in the air, and chew our food.
Involuntary movements are actions that occur without our input. For example, the heart is an involuntary muscle that beats on its own. Smooth muscles are also involuntary muscles that line the inside of some organs. They perform essential jobs like moving waste through our intestines and helping our lungs expand when we breathe.
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Muscles are pieces of soft tissue
Voluntary movements are those that we consciously control. For example, when we decide to move, the motor cortex sends an electrical signal through the spinal cord and peripheral nerves to the muscles, causing them to contract. This is how we are able to move our limbs, jump in the air, and chew our food.
However, muscles are also responsible for many more processes that we cannot actively control, such as keeping our hearts pumping, moving food through our guts, and even making us blush. These involuntary movements are controlled by the brain without our conscious input. For example, the cardiac muscle (myocardium) makes up the middle layers of the heart and squeezes and relaxes to pump blood through the cardiovascular system. Smooth muscles are also involuntary and line the inside of some organs, performing essential jobs like moving waste through the intestines and helping the lungs expand when we breathe.
To build new muscles through exercise, we make use of their remarkable ability to repair themselves when damaged.
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Frequently asked questions
Muscles are pieces of soft tissue that help us move, breathe, swallow and stay alive. They contract to generate movement.
There are two types of muscle movement: voluntary and involuntary. Voluntary movements are actions you control, such as jumping in the air or chewing your food. Involuntary movements are those that happen without your input, such as your heart beating or your lungs expanding when you breathe.
When you decide to move, the motor cortex sends an electrical signal through the spinal cord and peripheral nerves to the muscles, causing them to contract. The motor cortex on the right side of the brain controls the muscles on the left side of the body and vice versa.
