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There are over 600 muscles in the human body, and they are classified in various ways. One of the most common methods is by tissue type, and there are three types of muscle tissue: skeletal, cardiac, and smooth muscle. Skeletal muscles are attached to bones and allow for a wide range of movements and functions. Cardiac muscle tissue is found only in the walls of the heart and is responsible for pumping blood throughout the body. Smooth muscle is found within the walls of organs and structures such as the stomach, intestines, and bladder, and it moves substances through the organ.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Tissue type | Skeletal, cardiac, smooth |
| Morphology | Striated or non-striated/smooth |
| Function | Production of force and movement, support of body stature and position, stability of joints, production of body heat, provision of form to the body |
| Size | The gluteal region contains three muscles differentiated by size—the gluteus maximus (large), gluteus medius (medium), and gluteus minimus (smallest) |
| Direction of muscle fibres | In the abdominal region, the rectus abdominis runs straight up and down, the transverse abdominis runs transversely (left to right), and the obliques run at an angle |
| Type of fibre | Skeletal muscle is broadly classified into two fibre types: type I (slow-twitch) and type II (fast-twitch) |
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What You'll Learn
Muscle tissue type
Muscle tissue is a soft tissue that helps the body perform various functions, including movement, breathing, swallowing, and digestion. There are three types of muscle tissue in the body: skeletal, cardiac, and smooth muscle.
Skeletal muscles are the most common type of muscle in the body, accounting for 30-40% of total body mass. They are attached to bones by tendons and help with movement and weight support. These muscles are voluntary, meaning they move when you want them to. Skeletal muscles are further classified into two fiber types: type I (slow-twitch) and type II (fast-twitch). Type I, or slow-twitch muscle fibers, are dense with capillaries and rich in mitochondria and myoglobin, giving them a red colour.
Cardiac muscle, or myocardium, is found only in the walls of the heart and is an involuntary muscle. It contracts and relaxes to pump blood through the cardiovascular system. Cardiac muscle tissue is striated, containing sarcomeres arranged in highly regular bundles.
Smooth muscle is an involuntary muscle that lines the inside of some organs, including the esophagus, stomach, intestines, bronchi, uterus, urethra, bladder, blood vessels, and arrector pili in the skin. It is found in almost all organ systems and plays various roles, such as sealing orifices or transporting chyme through wavelike contractions in the intestinal tube. Smooth muscle tissue is non-striated, meaning it does not have the striped appearance of skeletal or cardiac muscle.
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Muscle shape and size
The size of a muscle can also be a distinguishing factor, as larger muscles tend to have higher muscle mass and generate more force. For instance, males generally have more skeletal muscle mass than females, and taller or overweight individuals tend to have higher muscle mass. Skeletal muscle mass can vary from person to person and decreases with age. Skeletal muscles, also known as striated muscles, are the most common type of muscle in the body and can make up between 30% to 40% of an individual's total body mass. They are responsible for a wide range of movements and functions and are attached to bones by tendons.
Skeletal muscle fibres can range from less than half an inch to just over 3 inches in diameter and are typically red or white in colour. They are composed of thousands of small fibres that contract and press together to enable movement. These fibres are arranged in regular, parallel bundles and are surrounded by different types of sheaths or coverings, including the epimysium, perimysium, and endomysium. Skeletal muscles can be further classified into two fibre types: type I (slow-twitch) and type II (fast-twitch). Type I fibres are dense with capillaries and are rich in mitochondria and myoglobin, giving them a red colour.
Cardiac muscle tissue, on the other hand, is found only in the walls of the heart and is responsible for pumping blood throughout the body. It is also striated but connects at irregular angles known as intercalated discs. Cardiac muscle cells are branched X or Y-shaped and are under involuntary control. Smooth muscle, also known as visceral muscle, is found within the walls of organs and structures such as the oesophagus, stomach, intestines, and blood vessels. It is non-striated, involuntary muscle tissue that appears smooth and uniform when viewed under a microscope.
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Muscle function
There are three types of muscle tissue: skeletal, cardiac, and smooth muscle. Skeletal muscle is the most common type of muscle in the body, comprising 30-40% of total body mass. These muscles are attached to bones and allow for a wide range of movements and functions. They are voluntary muscles, meaning an individual can control how and when they move. Skeletal muscles are biologically classified as 'syncytia', or cells formed by the fusion of smaller, mononuclear cells. Skeletal muscles are also further classified into two fibre types: type I (slow-twitch) and type II (fast-twitch).
Cardiac muscle tissue is found only in the walls of the heart and is responsible for pumping blood throughout the body. Cardiac muscle is an involuntary muscle, meaning it works without conscious thought. It is controlled by the autonomic nervous system and contains sarcomeres in highly regular arrangements of bundles.
Smooth muscle, also known as visceral muscle, is found inside organs like the stomach, intestines, and blood vessels. It is the weakest of all muscle tissues and is also involuntary. Smooth muscle contracts to move substances through the organ. This type of muscle is found in almost all organ systems, including the stomach, bladder, and blood vessels.
Muscles are sometimes classified by the type of function they perform, with most muscles in the forearms, for example, named based on their function due to their similar shapes and sizes in the same region.
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Muscle striation
Muscles are classified by their pattern of striation into three types: transversely striated, obliquely striated, and smooth muscle. Striated muscle tissue features repeating functional units called sarcomeres, which give the tissue its striated appearance. The two types of striated muscle are skeletal muscle and cardiac muscle.
Skeletal muscle is the most common type of muscle in the body. It is the muscle that connects to bones and allows for a wide range of movements and functions. Skeletal muscles are voluntary, meaning an individual can control how and when they work. They are made up of thousands of small fibres woven together. Skeletal muscle fibres are red and white and range from less than half an inch to just over 3 inches in diameter.
The sarcomere is the functional unit of a muscle fibre. Each muscle cell contains myofibrils composed of actin and myosin myofilaments repeated as a sarcomere. The actin filaments are attached to the Z-line, which is found in the middle of the I-bands. The area between two Z-lines makes up a sarcomere. The myosin filaments bind to the actin filaments through cross-bridges. The contraction of the muscle results from the ATP-dependent rowing motion of the myosin heads causing a shift of the actin filaments.
Cardiac muscle, on the other hand, is the muscle found on the walls of the heart. It is an involuntary muscle controlled by the autonomic nervous system. Cardiac muscle cells are unicellular and are connected to each other by intercalated discs. They have a centrally located nucleus and contain many mitochondria and myoglobin.
Smooth muscle is found within the walls of organs and structures such as the oesophagus, stomach, intestines, bronchi, uterus, urethra, bladder, blood vessels, and the arrector pili in the skin. It is also found in tubular structures such as blood and lymph vessels and bile ducts. Smooth muscle is involuntary and contracts without conscious intervention.
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Muscle location
Muscles are often classified by their location in the body. There are more than 600 muscles located throughout the human body. Some of the most well-known muscles are those in the arms, such as the biceps in the upper arms, or the legs, such as the quads in the thighs. However, muscles support almost every part of the body, including the chest, back, neck, buttocks, and abdomen.
The names of muscles often reflect their location. For example, the frontalis muscle is located on top of the frontal bone of the skull. The rectus abdominis and transverse abdominis are found in the abdominal region. Some muscles, like the tibialis anterior, are named after the part of the bone they are attached to (in this case, the anterior portion of the tibia).
Muscles can also be named based on their connection to a stationary bone (origin) and a moving bone (insertion). For example, the sternocleidomastoid muscle connects the sternum and clavicle to the mastoid process of the skull. The occipitofrontalis connects the occipital bone to the frontal bone.
The location of a muscle's attachment can also be reflected in its name. When naming a muscle based on its attachments, the origin is always named first. For example, the sternocleidomastoid muscle of the neck originates on the sternum (sterno) and clavicle (cleido) and inserts on the mastoid process of the temporal bone.
In addition to location, muscles can be classified by their type of function, shape, size, direction, and number of origins.
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Frequently asked questions
The three types of muscle tissue in vertebrates are skeletal, cardiac, and smooth muscle. Skeletal muscles are voluntary muscles that are controlled consciously. Cardiac and smooth muscles are involuntary muscles that are controlled by the autonomic nervous system.
Muscles are classified by tissue type and function. At its most basic level, muscle tissue is classified as either striated or non-striated/smooth based on the presence or absence of 'striations' (stripes/furrows) seen at a microscopic level. The size and direction of muscle fibres can also be used to identify a muscle.
Skeletal muscles are the most common type of muscle in the body. They are voluntary muscles that are attached to bones and allow you to perform a wide range of movements and functions. They make up between 30% and 40% of your total body mass.
