PRACTICE EXAM 3

9, 23, 24

1. Describe the sliding filament theory

2. Explain how muscle fibers are stimulated to contract by describing events that occur at
the neuromuscular junction
3. Describe how an action potential is generated
4. State the events of excitation-contraction coupling that lead to cross-bridge cycling
5. Define motor unit and muscle twitch, and describe the events occurring during the 3
phases of a muscle twitch
6. Explain how smooth, graded contractions of skeletal muscle are produced
7. Compare and contrast isometric and isotonic contractions
8. Describe the factors that influence the force, velocity, and duration of a skeletal muscle
contraction
9. Describe the 3 types of skeletal muscle fibers and explain the relative value of each type
10. Compare and contrast smooth and skeletal muscle
11. Compare and contrast single-unit and multiunit smooth muscle
12. Compare and contrast the contractile mechanisms and means of activation of skeletal
and smooth muscles
13. Describe the embryonic development of muscle tissues and changes that occur in
skeletal muscle with age
14. Describe the functions of the digestive system, and differentiate between organs of the
alimentary canal and accessory organs
15. List and define the major processes occurring during digestive system activity
16. Describe the location and function of the peritoneum
17. Name the retroperitoneal organs of the digestive system
18. What is the importance of the hepatic portal system?
19. Describe the tissue composition and function of each of the layers of the alimentary
canal
20. Describe the anatomy and functions of the mouth and its associated organs
21. Explain how saliva is made and is regulated
22. Describe the anatomy and functions of the pharynx and esophagus
23. What happens during swallowing?
24. What are the roles of bile and pancreatic juice in digestion?
25. List the major functions of the large intestine
26. Describe the regulation of defecation.
27. What is the importance of acetylcholinesterase in muscle cell contraction?
28. When a suicide victim was found, the coroner was unable to remove the drug vial
clutched in his hand. Explain the reasons for this. If the victim had been discovered
three days later, would the coroner have the same difficulty?
29. Mr. Holden has had severe diarrhea a day and is severely weakened. Explain why his
nurse is concerned about his present condition.
30. Compare and contrast skeletal and cardiac muscle
31. A long-distance runner is about to enter a 5-mile race. Beforehand, he spends several
minutes warming up. During the warm-up period, the phenomenon of treppe is
occurring in body muscle being used. What is treppe and why does it occur?
32. Skeletal muscles have two special inclusions that help them perform their function of
movement. What are the two special inclusions of skeletal muscle cells and how would
they be useful to the cell?
33. What are the parts of the skeletal muscle triad and what are their functions?
34. How it is that norepinephrine can inhibit smooth muscle action in airways, yet stimulate
contractions in smooth muscles everywhere else in the body?
35. Gary was injured in an automobile accident that severed the motor neurons innervating
his quadriceps. Even though he has had extensive physical therapy, he is still suffering
muscle atrophy. Why is the therapy not working?
36. Aaron arrived at the hospital with the following symptoms: drooping eyelids; fatigue
and weakness of his muscles; and difficulty talking, breathing, and swallowing. What
was his diagnosis?
37. Lynn has been waking up each night with intense pain in her calves. She does not feel it
is serious enough to seek medical attention but would like to know what is causing the
pain. What would you tell her concerning this problem? She has been playing tennis all
summer for several hours each day. Could this have anything to do with the night pain?
38. After removal of an elbow cast, Sarah noticed her arm was immovable. What happened
to her arm?
39. A patient is admitted for electroconvulsive treatment (ECT). The physician orders the
neuromuscular blocking agent (metubine) to reduce trauma by relaxing skeletal
muscles. Explain the process of muscle contraction and how a neuromuscular blocking
agent such as metubine would interfere with muscle contraction.
40.
41. At resting membrane potential, which of the following accurately describes the
relative conditions around the plasma membrane?
a. More sodium inside, more potassium outside
b. More potassium inside, more sodium outside
c. The inside of the cell is more positive compared to the outside of the cell
d. More proteins inside, more sodium and potassium outside

42. What happens during the sliding filament theory?

a. Thick filaments slide across thin filaments
b. Myosin slide across actin
c. Thin filaments slide across thick filaments
d. Troponin slides across tropomyosin

43. The connective tissue covering that encloses the sarcolemma of an individual muscle
fiber is called the
a. Epimysium
b. Perimysium
c. Endomysium
 d. Periosteum

44. A fascicle is a
a. Muscle
b. Bundle of muscle fibers enclosed by a connective tissue sheath
c. Bundle of myofibrils
d. Group of myofilaments
e. None of the above

45. The function of the T tubules in muscle contraction is to

a. Make and store glycogen
b. Release calcium into the cell interior and then pick it up again
c. Transmit the action potential deep into the muscle cells
d. Form proteins

46. The sites where the motor nerve impulse is transmitted from the nerve endings to the
skeletal muscle cell membranes are the
a. Neuromuscular junctions
b. Sarcomeres
c. Myofilaments
d. Z discs

47. Contraction elicited by a single brief stimulus is called

a. A twitch
b. Temporal summation
c. Multiple motor unit summation
d. Fused tetanus

48. A smooth, sustained contraction resulting from very rapid stimulation of the muscle,
in which no evidence of relaxation is seen, is called?
a. A twitch
b. Temporal summation
c. Multiple motor unit summation
d. Fused tetanus

49. Characteristics of isometric contractions include all but

a. Shortening
b. Increased muscle tension throughout the contraction phase
c. Absence of shortening
d. Used in resistance training

50. During muscle contraction, what provides ATP the fastest?

a. A coupled reaction of creatine phosphate with ADP
b. Aerobic respiration of glucose
 c. Anaerobic glycolysis
d. All of the above

51. During muscle contraction, what does not require oxygen of ATP?
a. A coupled reaction of creatine phosphate with ADP
b. Aerobic respiration of glucose
c. Anaerobic glycolysis
d. All of the above

52. During muscle contraction, what provides the highest yield of ATP per glucose
molecule?
a. A coupled reaction of creatine phosphate with ADP
b. Aerobic respiration of glucose
c. Anaerobic glycolysis
d. All of the above

53. During muscle contraction, what results in the formation of lactic acid?
a. A coupled reaction of creatine phosphate with ADP
b. Aerobic respiration of glucose
c. Anaerobic glycolysis
d. All of the above

54. During muscle contraction, what involves carbon dioxide and water production?
a. A coupled reaction of creatine phosphate with ADP
b. Aerobic respiration of glucose
c. Anaerobic glycolysis
d. All of the above

55. During muscle contraction, what is most important in endurance of sports?

a. A couple reaction of creatine phosphate with ADP
b. Aerobic respiration of glucose
c. Anaerobic respiration of glucose
d. All of the above

56. The neurotransmitter released by somatic motor neurons is

a. Acetylcholine
b. Acetylcholinesterase
c. Norepinephrine
d. All of the above

57. The ions that enter the skeletal muscle cell during the generation of an action
potential are
a. Calcium ions
b. Chloride ions
 c. Sodium ions
d. Potassium ions

58. Myoglobin has a special function in muscle tissue. It….

a. Breaks down glycogen
b. Produces the end plate potential
c. Holds a reserve supply of oxygen in the muscle
d. Is a protein involved in the direct phosphorylation of ADP

59. Aerobic exercise results in all of the following except

a. More capillaries surrounding muscle fibers
b. More mitochondria in muscle cells
c. Increased size and strength of existing muscle cells
d. More myoglobin

60. The smooth muscle type found in the walls of digestive and urinary system organs and
that exhibit gap junctions and pacemaker cells is
a. Multiunit
b. Unitary
c. Fused
d. Unfused

61. The peritoneal cavity

a. Is the same thing as the abdominopelvic cavity
b. Is filled with air
c. Like the pleural and pericardial cavities is a potential space containing serous
fluid
d. Contains the pancreas and all of the duodenum

62. Obstruction of the hepatopancreatic sphincter impairs digestion by reducing the

availability of
a. Bile and HCl
b. HCl and intestinal juice
c. Pancreatic juice and intestinal juice
d. Pancreatic juice and bile

63. The lamina propria forms part of the

a. Muscularis externa
b. Submucosa
c. Serosa
d. Mucosa

64. Carbohydrates are acted on by

a. Peptidases, trypsin, and chymotrypsin
 b. Amylase, maltase, and sucrase
c. Lipases
d. Peptidases, lipases, and galactase

65. The parasympathetic nervous system influences digestion by

a. Relaxing smooth muscle
b. Stimulating peristalsis and secretory activity
c. Constricting sphincters
d. None of these

66. The digestive juice product containing enzymes capable of digesting all four major
foodstuff categories is
a. Pancreatic
b. Gastric
c. Salivary
d. Biliary

67. The site of production of cholecystokinin is

a. The stomach
b. The small intestine
c. The pancreas
d. The large intestine

68. Which of the following is not characteristic of the colon?

a. It is divided into ascending, transverse, and descending portions
b. It contains abundant bacteria, some of which synthesize certain vitamins
c. It is the main absorptive site
d. It absorbs much of the water and salts remaining in the wastes

69. The gallbladder

a. Produces bile
b. Is attached to the pancreas
c. Stores and concentrates bile
d. Produces secretin

70. The sphincter between the stomach and duodenum is

a. The gastroesophageal sphincter
b. The hepatopancreatic sphincter
c. The ileocecal valve
d. None of the above

71. Someone eats buttered toast, cream, and eggs. Which of the following would you
expect to happen?
 a. Gastric mobility and secretion of HCl decrease when the food reaches the
duodenum
b. Gastric mobility increases even as the person is chewing the food (before
swallowing)
c. Fat will be emulsified in the duodenum by the action of bile
d. All of these

72. Which of the following surrounds the individual muscle fiber?

a. Epimysium
b. Perimysium
c. Endosteum
d. Endomysium

73. What is the correct order of the twitch process?

a. Contraction, latent, relaxation
b. Latent, contraction, relaxation
c. Relaxation, contraction, latent
d. Relaxation, latent, contraction

74. Motor units are composed of

a. Myofilaments and cross bridges
b. Sarcomeres and myofibers
c. Neurons and sarcolemma
d. Neurons and muscle fibers

75. Muscle fiber types are classified according to 2 characteristics. What are the
characteristics?
a. The speed of contraction and metabolic pathways used for ATP synthesis
b. The type of protein in actin and myosin in the fiber
c. The appearance and function of the fiber
d. The type of bands and plasma membrane in the fiber

76. Skeletal muscle fibers can be classified into 3 types. What are they?
a. Skeletal, smooth, cardiac
b. Slow oxidative, fast oxidative, fast glycolytic
c. Short, long, round
d. Multiunit, unitary, no unit

77. Gastric secretion has three phases. What are they?

a. Primary, secondary, final
b. First, second, third
c. Cephalic, gastric, intestinal
d. Digestion, passage, relaxation
78. The effects of chemotherapy are
a. Targets rapidly dividing cells
b. Targets rapidly dividing GI tract epithelium
c. Nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea
d. All of the above

79. What is the first part of the large intestine?

a. Cecum
b. Rectum
c. Colon
d. Appendix

80. What are the four layers of the digestive system in order from deep to outermost?
a. Serosa, muscularis externa, submucosa, mucosa
b. Mucosa, submucosa, muscularis externa, serosa
c. Submucosa, mucosa, serosa, muscularis externa
d. Serosa, submucosa, mucosa, muscularis externa

81. Which muscle cells have the ability to regenerate?

a. Cardiac
b. No muscle can regenerate
c. Skeletal
d. Smooth

82. Most skeletal muscles contain

a. Muscle fibers of same type
b. A predominance of fast oxidative fibers
c. A predominance of slow oxidative fibers
d. A mixture of fibers

83. Fatigued muscle cells that recover rapidly are the products of
a. Slow exercise of long duration
b. Intense exercise of long duration
c. Intense exercise of short duration
d. Slow exercise of short duration

84. Which of the following would be recruited later in muscle stimulation when
contractile strength increases?
a. Many small motor units with the ability to stimulate other motor units
b. Large motor units with small, highly excitable neurons
c. Motor units with the longest muscle fiber
d. Motor units with larger, less excitable neurons

85. Which of the following is not a usual result of resistance exercise?

 a. Increase in the number of myofibrils within the muscle cells
b. Increase in the number of muscle cells
c. Increase in the efficiency of the respiratory system
d. Increase in the efficiency of the circulatory system

86. E-C coupling requires which of the following substances?

a. ATP and glucose
b. ATP only
c. Ca2+ and ATP
d. Ca2+ only

87. Which of the following is a factor that affects the velocity and duration of muscle
contraction?
a. Size of the muscle fibers stimulated
b. Load on the fiber
c. Number of muscle fibers stimulated
d. Muscle length

88. What does oxygen deficit represent?

a. The amount of oxygen taken into the body prior to the exertion
b. The amount of oxygen taken into the body immediately after the exertion
c. The difference between the amount of oxygen needed for activity and the
amount actually used
d. Amount of energy needed for exertion

89. Following the arrival of the stimulus at a skeletal muscle cell, there is a short period
during which the events of E-C coupling occurs. What is this period called?
a. Latent
b. Refractory
c. Contraction
d. Relaxation

90. What controls the force of muscle contraction?

a. Wave summation
b. Treppe
c. Concentric contractions
d. Multi-motor unit summation

91. Smooth muscles that act like skeletal muscles but are controlled by autonomic nerves
and hormones are
a. White muscles
b. Red muscles
c. Multi-unit muscles
d. Single-unit muscles
92. Rigor mortis occurs because
a. No ATP is available to release attached actin and myosin molecules
b. Sodium ions leak out of the muscle
c. The cells are dead
d. Proteins are beginning to break down, thus preventing a flow of calcium ions

93. Which of the choices below does not describe how recovery oxygen uptake (oxygen
deficit) restores metabolic conditions?
a. Replaces the oxygen removed from myoglobin
b. Increases the level of lactic acid in the muscle
c. Converts lactic acid back into glycogen stores in the liver
d. Resynthesizes creatine phosphate and ATP in muscle fibers

94. The oxygen-binding protein found in muscle cells is

a. ATP
b. Myoglobin
c. Hemoglobin
d. Immunoglobin
95. Which of the following is not a way muscle contractions can be graded?
a. Changing the frequency of stimulation
b. Changing the type of neurotransmitter released by motor neuron
c. Changing the type of muscle fibers involved
d. Changing the strength of the stimulus

96. When a muscle is unable to respond to stimuli temporarily, it is in which of the

following periods?
a. Refractory period
b. Latent period
c. Relaxation period
d. Fatigue period

97. The mechanism of contraction in smooth muscle is different from skeletal muscle in
that
a. Actin and myosin interact by the sliding filament mechanism
b. The site of calcium regulation differs
c. The trigger for contraction is a rise in intracellular calcium
d. ATP energizes the sliding process

98. Which of the following is true about smooth muscle contraction?

a. Certain smooth muscle cells can divide to increase their numbers
b. Smooth muscle has well-developed T tubules at the site of invagination
c. Smooth muscle cannot stretch as much as skeletal muscle
 d. Smooth muscle, in contrast to skeletal muscle, cannot synthesize or secrete any
connective tissue elements

99. Which of the following statements is true?

a. Cardiac muscle cells are found in the heart and large blood vessels
b. Cardiac muscle cells have many nuclei
c. Striated muscle cells are long and cylindrical with many nuclei
d. Smooth muscle cells have T tubules

100. Muscle tone is

a. The feeling of well-being following exercise
b. The condition of athletes after intensive training
c. A state of sustained partial contraction
d. The ability of a muscle to efficiently cause skeletal movements

101. What is the most distinguishing characteristic of muscle tissue?

a. The diversity of activity of muscle tissue
b. The sarcoplasmic reticulum
c. The ability to transform chemical energy into mechanical energy
d. The design of the muscle fibers
102. Hypothetically, if a muscle were stretched to the point where thick and thin
filaments no longer overlapped, what would happen?
a. ATP consumption would increase because the sarcomere is “trying” to contract
b. Maximum force production would result because the muscle has a maximum
range of travel
c. Cross bridge attachment would be optimum because of all the free binding sites
on actin
d. No muscle tension could be generated

TRUE OR FALSE
103. One of the functions of skeletal muscle contraction is the production of heat (T)
104. Cells of the unitary smooth muscle are commonly called visceral muscle (T)
105. Smooth muscle can contract when between half and twice its resting length,
allowing organs to have huge volume change without becoming flabby when relaxed (T)
106. The submucosa is responsible for segmentation and peristalsis (F)
107. The visceral peritoneum is the membrane that lines the body wall (F)
108. The liver is not an accessory digestive organ (F)
109. Multiunit smooth muscle is found in large arteries (T)
110. Tonic contraction is single unit and phasic contraction is multiple unit (F)
111. Fast oxidative fibers are the fastest contraction (F)
112. Three different muscle tissues can have different twitch characteristics (T)
113. Glycolytic fibers use aerobic pathways (F)
114. Fused tetanus is when multiple stimulations occur with no rest between them in
the graded muscle response (T)
115. Muscle tissue makes up half of the body’s mass (T)
116. The longest period of a twitch is the contraction period (F)
117. Skeletal and smooth muscle cells are elongated, and called muscle fibers; but
cardiac muscle cells are not (T)
118. Every cell has a negative resting membrane potential (T)
119. All striated muscle is innervated by a neuron (F)
120. Once a motor neuron has fired, all muscle fibers in a muscle contract (F)
121. Muscle contraction will always promote movement of body parts regardless of
how they are attached (F)
122. During isotonic contraction, the heavier the load, the faster the velocity of
contraction (F)
123. During isometric contraction, the energy used
124. Smooth muscles have no sarcomeres and still possess thin and thick filaments (T)