Athena Vale
Muscles are essential to life, allowing us to consciously move our limbs, jump in the air, chew our food, and perform many other functions. There are more than 600 muscles in the human body, and they can be categorised into three types: cardiac, skeletal, and smooth. Cardiac muscles make up the walls of the heart, skeletal muscles connect with bones, tendons and ligaments to support movement, and smooth muscles are found in the inside of organs such as the bladder, stomach and intestines. Muscle function is driven by metabolic processes that convert the nutrition we consume into chemical energy (adenosine triphosphate or ATP) that powers contraction in all muscle types.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Number of muscles in the body | More than 600 |
| Types of muscles | Cardiac, skeletal, smooth, striated |
| Function | Conscious movement of limbs, jumping, chewing, keeping the heart pumping, moving food through the gut, making us blush, breathing, circulation, digestion, walking, speaking |
| Muscle contraction | Powered by sarcomeres, which contain a motor protein called myosin that "grabs" onto another protein called actin and "flexes" |
| Muscle energy | Comes from biochemical pathways that convert nutrition into chemical energy (adenosine triphosphate or ATP) |
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What You'll Learn
How muscles work with the brain and nerves to cause movement
Muscles are pieces of soft tissue that help the body to move, breathe, swallow and stay alive. There are more than 600 muscles in the human body, and they are categorised into three types: cardiac, skeletal, and smooth.
Cardiac muscle makes up the walls of the heart, powering contraction and relaxation to enable circulation. Skeletal muscles connect with bones, tendons and ligaments to support movement of the body. Smooth muscle makes up the inside of organs such as the bladder, stomach and intestines and plays an important role in involuntary functions such as the digestive and urinary systems.
The brain, nerves and skeletal muscles work together to cause movement – this is collectively known as the neuromuscular system. Muscles work by either contracting or relaxing to cause movement. This movement may be voluntary (meaning the movement is made consciously) or done without our conscious awareness (involuntary). Glucose from carbohydrates in our diet fuels our muscles.
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How muscles are connected to bones
Muscles are pieces of soft tissue that help the body to move, breathe, swallow and stay alive. There are more than 600 muscles in the body, and they can be categorised into three types: cardiac, skeletal and smooth.
Cardiac muscle makes up the walls of the heart, powering contraction and relaxation to enable circulation. Smooth muscle makes up the inside of organs such as the bladder, stomach and intestines and plays an important role in involuntary functions such as the digestive and urinary systems.
Skeletal muscles connect with bones, tendons and ligaments to support movement of the body. They work by either contracting or relaxing to cause movement. This movement may be voluntary (made consciously) or involuntary (done without conscious awareness).
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How muscles contract and relax
Muscle contraction is the tightening, shortening, or lengthening of muscles when you do some activity. This can happen when you hold or pick up something, or when you stretch or exercise with weights. Muscle contraction is often followed by muscle relaxation when contracted muscles return to their normal state.
The physiological concept of muscle contraction is based on two variables: length and tension. Tension within the muscle can be produced without changes in the length of the muscle, as when holding a dumbbell in the same position or holding a sleeping child in your arms. Upon termination of muscle contraction, muscle relaxation occurs, which is the return of muscle fibres to a low-tension state.
Muscle contraction usually stops when signalling from the motor neuron ends, which repolarises the sarcolemma and T-tubules, and closes the voltage-gated calcium channels in the SR. Ca++ ions are then pumped back into the SR, which causes the tropomyosin to re-shield the binding sites on the actin strands. A muscle may also stop contracting when it runs out of ATP and becomes fatigued.
A twitch is a single contraction and relaxation cycle produced by an action potential within the muscle fibre itself. The time between a stimulus to the motor nerve and the subsequent contraction of the innervated muscle is called the latent period, which usually takes about 10 ms.
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How muscles are fuelled by glucose and other dietary substances
Muscles are responsible for many processes in the body, from conscious actions like walking and speaking to unconscious ones like keeping the heart pumping and moving food through the gut.
Muscles need signals from the brain and energy from food to contract and move. The body converts the nutrition we consume into chemical energy (adenosine triphosphate or ATP) that powers contraction in all muscle types. Most ATP in muscle is made by mitochondria, organelles that serve as the engines that power movement, growth, and maintenance of other normal muscle functions.
The body's main source of energy is glucose, which comes from carbohydrates in the food we eat. Carbohydrates are readily broken down into glucose, which can be used immediately as fuel or sent to the liver and muscles to be stored as glycogen. During exercise, muscle glycogen is converted back into glucose, which only the muscle fibres can use as fuel. The body also stores some glycogen in the brain.
The liver converts its glycogen into glucose, which is released into the bloodstream to maintain blood sugar levels. During exercise, muscles use this glucose in addition to their own private glycogen stores.
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How muscles are controlled by the brain
Muscles are pieces of soft tissue that help us move, breathe, swallow and stay alive. There are more than 600 muscles in the body, and they are controlled by the brain, nerves and skeletal muscles working together to cause movement. This is known as the neuromuscular system.
The brain controls muscles by sending electrical signals through the nervous system to the muscle fibres. These signals cause the muscle fibres to contract, which creates movement in the body. For example, when you want to move your arm, the brain sends a signal to the muscles in your arm to contract, which causes your arm to move.
The brain also controls muscles by sending signals to the spinal cord, which then sends signals to the muscles. This is known as the somatic nervous system. The somatic nervous system is responsible for voluntary movements, such as walking or speaking.
In addition to the somatic nervous system, the brain also controls muscles through the autonomic nervous system. This system is responsible for involuntary movements, such as breathing or digestion. The autonomic nervous system works without our conscious awareness, keeping our bodies functioning even when we are not thinking about it.
Overall, the brain plays a crucial role in controlling muscles and enabling movement in the body. By sending electrical signals through the nervous system, the brain can initiate both voluntary and involuntary movements, allowing us to perform a wide range of actions and maintain our bodily functions.
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Frequently asked questions
Muscles allow us to consciously move our limbs, jump in the air, and chew our food. They also keep our hearts pumping, move food through our guts, and make us blush. Our muscles need signals from our brains and energy from our food to contract and move.
There are more than 600 muscles in the body that help with performing a myriad of functions, from involuntary ones like breathing, circulation and digestion to voluntary ones such as walking or speaking.
There are three types of muscles: cardiac, skeletal, and smooth. Cardiac muscle makes up the walls of the heart, powering contraction and relaxation to enable circulation. Skeletal muscles connect with bones, tendons and ligaments to support movement of the body. Smooth muscle makes up the inside of organs such as the bladder, stomach and intestines and plays an important role in involuntary functions such as the digestive and urinary systems.
When muscles don't perform optimally, it can significantly impact quality of life. For example, when the diaphragm is compromised, it may lead to difficulty breathing and potential respiratory failure. Many diseases that affect muscle function, such as ALS and heart failure, result in muscle weakness, which leads to limited performance of vital muscle systems.
