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Our bodies contain over 600 muscles that help us perform a variety of functions, from involuntary actions like breathing to voluntary ones like walking. The principal function of a muscle is rooted in its ability to contract and relax. Muscles help us move, sit still, stand up straight, and make facial expressions. They also help us breathe, speak, chew, and move food through our digestive system. Cardiac muscles make up the heart, while smooth muscles line the inside of some organs, helping with essential tasks like moving waste through our intestines and helping our lungs expand when we breathe. Skeletal muscles, which are under our voluntary control, make up 30-40% of our total body mass and help with a wide range of movements and functions.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Number of muscles in the human body | More than 600 |
| Types of muscles | Skeletal, cardiac, and smooth |
| Muscle composition | Thousands of small fibres woven together |
| Muscle movement | Contraction and relaxation |
| Muscle control | Voluntary and involuntary |
| Muscle functions | Breathing, pumping blood, supporting movement, lifting heavy weights, giving birth, swallowing, and digestion |
| Muscle health | Physical activity, adequate nutrition (glucose, calcium, magnesium, potassium, and sodium), and rest |
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What You'll Learn
How muscles help us breathe
The human body has over 600 muscles, which help us do everything from moving our body to breathing and keeping us alive. The muscles work by either contracting or relaxing to cause movement. The brain, nerves, and skeletal muscles work together to cause movement, and this is collectively known as the neuromuscular system. The brain sends a message to the motor neurons, triggering the release of the chemical acetylcholine, which causes the muscle to contract.
The diaphragm is the primary muscle involved in breathing and is serviced by 50 to 200 branches of specialized nerve cells called motor neurons. The diaphragm separates the chest from the abdominal cavity. Contraction of the diaphragm expands the abdomen and the lower part of the rib cage (abdominal rib cage). The rib cage muscles, including the intercostals, the parasternals, the scalene, and the neck muscles, mostly act on the upper part of the rib cage and are both inspiratory and expiratory. The abdominal muscles act on the abdomen and the abdominal rib cage and are expiratory.
During breathing at rest, the diaphragm and inspiratory rib cage muscles work together in a highly coordinated manner to avoid undesirable effects such as "paradoxical" inward or outward motion during inspiration and expiration, respectively. During exercise, the diaphragm helps passively assist the action of respiratory muscles by utilizing trunk bending and inertial movements of soft tissues to augment inspiratory and expiratory flow.
The muscles in the neck and collarbone area are also used to help breathe in. Damage to the nerves in the upper spinal cord can interfere with the movement of the diaphragm and other muscles in the chest, neck, and abdomen, potentially causing respiratory failure.
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How muscles help us move
Muscles are pieces of soft tissue that help us move, among other vital functions. There are over 600 muscles in the human body, comprising 30% to 40% of our total body mass. The three main types of muscle are skeletal, smooth, and cardiac.
Skeletal muscles are the most common type and are attached to bones by tendons, allowing us to move. They are also known as voluntary muscles because we can control how and when they move. They are called striated muscles because they have a striped appearance when viewed under a microscope. Skeletal muscles come in different shapes, including spindle (like the biceps) and flat (like the diaphragm).
Smooth muscles are involuntary muscles, meaning they are controlled by the nervous system without our conscious awareness. They are found in the walls of organs such as the bladder, stomach, intestines, and blood vessels, and play a crucial role in functions like digestion and urination.
Cardiac muscle is another type of involuntary muscle found in the heart. Its rhythmic contractions force blood out of the heart as it beats, enabling circulation.
The brain, nerves, and skeletal muscles work together to cause movement, collectively known as the neuromuscular system. When we decide to move, the motor cortex in the brain sends electrical signals through the spinal cord and peripheral nerves to the muscles, causing them to contract.
Overall, muscles are essential for movement and help us perform a wide range of functions, from breathing and swallowing to exercising and lifting heavy objects.
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How muscles help us speak
The human body has over 600 muscles that help us perform a variety of functions, from pumping blood around our body to supporting our movement and even giving birth. These muscles are made of thousands of small fibres woven together, which stretch and press together to move our organs and body.
Muscles are essential for speech, as they help us communicate by shaping the mouth and controlling expressions. The diaphragm, a large muscle located at the base of the lungs, plays a crucial role in breathing, which is essential for speech production. When we inhale, the diaphragm moves downward, allowing the lungs to fill with air. Upon exhaling, the diaphragm pushes upward, forcing air out through the lungs, trachea, and vocal cords to produce sound. Good control of the diaphragm helps individuals speak clearly and at the appropriate volume.
The tongue, lips, jaw, soft palate, and facial muscles are also essential for speech. The jaw's position, for example, affects speech clarity by creating the space needed for the tongue and lips to move. A wide-open mouth is required for the "a" sound in "cat," while a more closed mouth is used for the "s" sound in "sun." The soft palate, located at the back of the roof of the mouth, moves to direct airflow through the mouth or nose, which is essential for producing nasal sounds like "m," "n," and "ng." Several facial muscles help shape the mouth and control expressions during speech, and activities like singing, reading aloud, and engaging in conversations are excellent ways to strengthen these muscles.
Learning to speak a new language can also feel like a workout for the muscles involved in speech, as they need to be trained to make new sounds and positions. Certain phrases in other languages may be challenging for native speakers of other languages, and practising speaking and listening can help improve pronunciation and build new habits for the mouth muscles.
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How muscles help us swallow
Muscles are pieces of soft tissue that help us move, breathe, swallow and stay alive. There are over 600 muscles in the human body, and they work by either contracting or relaxing to cause movement. This movement may be voluntary, or done without our conscious awareness (involuntary).
The process of swallowing, also called deglutition, is a complex mechanism that requires the precise coordination of more than 20 muscles in the mouth, throat and oesophagus, as well as the brain and nervous system. It is the physical process of an animal's digestive tract that allows for an ingested substance (typically food) to pass from the mouth to the pharynx and then into the oesophagus.
The tongue pushes the food to the back of the throat, and the lips close to assist in oral containment of the food. The food is moistened by saliva and broken down by the action of the teeth, controlled by the muscles of mastication. The tongue then elevates to the roof of the mouth, creating a trough at the back of the tongue by contracting the intrinsic muscles. This forces the food (now called a bolus) to the back of the tongue, ready to be swallowed.
The larynx and pharynx move down by elastic recoil, and the food passes through the mouth and throat into the oesophagus. From there, it enters the stomach and the gastrointestinal tract. Larynx-closure exercises can help people who have trouble swallowing, strengthening the muscles of the larynx and helping to keep food moving normally.
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How muscles help us pump blood
The human body has over 600 muscles that help us perform a wide range of functions, from pumping blood to supporting movement and even giving birth. Muscles are pieces of soft tissue that help us move, breathe, swallow, and stay alive. They can contract (shorten or tighten) quickly and powerfully, but they can also tire easily.
The skeletal muscle pump, or musculovenous pump, is a collection of skeletal muscles that aid the heart in circulating blood. This is especially important for increasing the return of venous blood to the heart. When we stand, blood volume moves to the peripheral parts of our bodies. The skeletal muscle pump combats this by contracting and helping to bring venous blood volume back to the heart. This is known as venous return, which is important for maintaining the central and local supply of blood output.
During skeletal muscle contraction, the veins within the muscle are compressed, increasing blood pressure. Due to the presence of one-way valves within the veins, the blood can only pass in one direction, back towards the heart. This mechanism is vital in preventing orthostatic intolerance when standing. It also helps maintain blood pressure and flow, ensuring efficient removal of waste products and a better supply of nutrients to the muscle tissue.
In addition to the skeletal muscle pump, the heart itself is also a muscle, specifically a cardiac muscle, and is the only organ in the body composed of cardiac tissue. Cardiac muscle is an involuntary type of muscle, meaning its contractions are not under our conscious control. The powerful, rhythmic contractions of cardiac muscle force blood out of the heart with each beat, contributing to the circulation of blood throughout the body.
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Frequently asked questions
Muscles are a vital part of the human body and play a role in everything we do. They help us move, sit still, stand up straight, and allow us to move our eyes to look around. They also help with digestion, pumping blood through the heart and blood vessels, and moving air in the body so we can breathe and speak.
Muscles work by contracting and relaxing to cause movement. This movement may be voluntary, meaning it is made consciously, or involuntary, done without our conscious awareness.
There are three types of muscles in the human body: smooth, skeletal, and cardiac. Skeletal muscles are the only voluntary muscles, while smooth and cardiac muscles act involuntarily.
The beating of the heart is an example of an involuntary muscle movement. Cardiac muscle, or myocardium, makes up the middle layers of the heart and beats on its own without our input. It squeezes and relaxes to pump blood through our cardiovascular system.
Being physically active and exercising regularly helps keep your muscles healthy. However, it is important to gradually increase your activity level and not suddenly ramp up your training intensity. Eating healthily and ensuring your diet includes carbohydrates, calcium, magnesium, potassium, and sodium is also important for muscle health.
