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The muscular system is a complex network of muscles that work together to enable movement and support the body's functions. There are about 600 muscles in the human body, accounting for around 40% of a person's weight. The muscular system includes skeletal muscles, which support movement, and cardiac or heart muscles, which control heartbeat and circulation. Smooth muscles also line the inside of organs, playing a role in involuntary functions such as digestion and urinary systems. The brain, nerves, and skeletal muscles work together to cause movement, collectively known as the neuromuscular system.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Main function | Allow movement |
| Muscle types | Skeletal, cardiac, smooth |
| Muscle functions | Pumping blood, supporting movement, lifting heavy weights, giving birth, controlling heartbeat, breathing, digestion, temperature regulation, vision |
| Number of muscles | 600 |
| Muscle weight | 40% of a person's weight |
| Largest muscle | Gluteus maximus in the buttocks |
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What You'll Learn
The muscular system allows movement
The brain, nerves and skeletal muscles work together to cause movement – this is collectively known as the neuromuscular system. Most muscle movement of the body is under conscious control, but some movement is done without our conscious awareness (involuntary).
When muscles contract, they contribute to gross and fine movement. Gross movement refers to large, coordinated motions. The smaller skeletal muscles are usually responsible for this type of action. Skeletal muscles connect with bones, tendons and ligaments to support movement of the body.
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.
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The muscular system controls heartbeat
The heart is a pump made up of muscle tissue. The heart's pumping action is regulated by an electrical conduction system that coordinates the contraction of the various chambers of the heart. Muscle cells control the heart's contractions. Signals tell the heart when to pump blood through the body. The heart's electrical conduction system sends out thousands of signals per day to keep the heart beating.
The heart's conduction system contains specialised cells and nodes that control the heartbeat. The sinoatrial (SA) node is the heart's natural pacemaker. It sends electrical impulses that start the heartbeat. When the SA node isn't working well, the lower segments of the conduction system act as backup pacemaker cells. The SA node is in the upper part of the heart's right atrium.
The autonomic nervous system (ANS) is the component of the peripheral nervous system that controls cardiac muscle contraction. The ANS can regulate heart rate, blood pressure, rate of respiration, body temperature, sweating, gastrointestinal motility and secretion, as well as other visceral activities that maintain homeostasis. The ANS functions continuously without conscious effort.
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The muscular system controls breathing
The body's muscles and nervous system help control breathing. The lungs are like sponges, and cannot expand on their own. Muscles in the chest and abdomen contract to create a vacuum around the lungs, which causes air to flow in. When exhaling, the muscles relax and the lungs deflate. The diaphragm, a dome-shaped muscle below the lungs, is the main muscle used for breathing. It separates the chest cavity from the abdominal cavity. The intercostal muscles between the ribs also play a role in breathing, particularly during physical activity.
The abdominal muscles are used to help breathe out when breathing fast, such as during exercise. The muscles of the face, mouth and pharynx control the lips, tongue, soft palate and other structures to help with breathing. The laryngeal muscles and muscles in the oral and nasal pharynx adjust the resistance of movement of gases through the upper airways during both inspiration and expiration. These muscles are also used to perform other functions, such as speaking, chewing and swallowing, and maintaining posture.
The human respiratory system can adjust breathing patterns to changes in the internal and external environment. For example, ventilation increases and decreases in proportion to swings in carbon dioxide production and oxygen consumption caused by changes in metabolic rate. The respiratory system can also compensate for disturbances that affect the mechanics of breathing, such as the airway narrowing that occurs in an asthmatic attack.
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The muscular system controls digestion
The digestive system has three muscular sphincters that control the movement of food contents into the digestive system. The cardiac sphincter is present at the junction of the oesophagus and stomach, regulating the movement of food content between the two. The pyloric sphincter is present at the junction of the stomach and small intestine, regulating the movement of food content between the stomach and the small intestine.
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The muscular system controls temperature regulation
The human body maintains a temperature of about 37°C (98.6°F) using various physical processes. These include sweating to lower the body temperature, shivering to raise it, and narrowing or relaxing blood vessels to alter blood flow.
Muscles play a key role in temperature regulation. They produce a huge amount of heat when they're working, including the heart, guts, and even the diaphragm muscles that enable breathing. The body makes tiny shifts and changes that keep it at a healthy temperature depending on the environment and the body's output.
The thermoregulation system includes the hypothalamus, sweat glands, circulatory system, and skin. If an individual is unable to regulate their temperature, they could overheat, leading to hyperthermia. The opposite is also true: if the core temperature falls below a safe level, it will cause hypothermia.
Newborns are more susceptible to cooling and hypothermia due to their high levels of heat loss by evaporation, skin immaturity, elevated ratio of body surface area to weight, deficient amounts of subcutaneous adipose tissue for insulation, and poorly developed muscles.
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Frequently asked questions
The muscular system consists of various types of muscle that each play a crucial role in the function of the body.
The muscular system's main function is to allow movement. Muscles also control heartbeat, breathing, digestion, temperature regulation and vision.
Muscles work by either contracting or relaxing to cause movement. This movement may be voluntary (made consciously) or involuntary (done without our conscious awareness).
Glucose from carbohydrates in our diet fuels our muscles. To work properly, muscle tissue also needs particular minerals, electrolytes and other dietary substances such as calcium, magnesium, potassium and sodium.
