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Unit Five-Human Body System

The document discusses the human musculoskeletal and reproductive systems. It describes the components and functions of the musculoskeletal system including muscles, bones, joints and related tissues. It also covers the types of muscles and mechanisms of skeletal muscle contraction.

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Kedir Mohammed
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37 views5 pages

Unit Five-Human Body System

The document discusses the human musculoskeletal and reproductive systems. It describes the components and functions of the musculoskeletal system including muscles, bones, joints and related tissues. It also covers the types of muscles and mechanisms of skeletal muscle contraction.

Uploaded by

Kedir Mohammed
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Unit Five: The human body systems

The human body is a biological machine made of body systems and groups of organs
that work together to produce and sustain life. The human organ systems include the
integumentary system, skeletal system, muscular system, lymphatic system,
respiratory system, digestive system, nervous system, endocrine system,
cardiovascular system, urinary system and reproductive systems. However, in this
unit, we shall discuss only the musculoskeletal and reproductive systems.
5.1. Human Musculoskeletal Systems
The human musculoskeletal systems are organ systems that give humans the ability to
move. Muscles and skeletal systems are musculoskeletal systems that provide the
human body with shapes and forms and protect the vital organs of musculoskeletal
systems.
Musculoskeletal systems bind organs together, support stability, allow bodily
movements and produce blood cells for the body (bone marrow) and stores minerals
Musculoskeletal system is a body structure made up of bones of the skeletons,
muscles, cartilages, tendons, ligaments, joints and connective tissues. Musculoskeletal
system is a body structure made up of bones of the skeleton, muscles, cartilage,
tendons, ligaments, joints, and connective tissues. The human musculoskeletal system
comprises:
1. Muscles keep bones in place and enable movements.
2. Joints and cartilages connect bones to bones and prevent them from rubbing against
each other.
3. Tendons connect muscles to bones.
4. Connective tissues: internal skeletal system parts favoring positions and
movements
5. Ligaments are fibrous connective tissues that attach bone to bone.
5.1.1. Types of muscles
What are the functions of muscles?
The human muscular systems include about 700 muscles that make up half of the
human body weight and are responsible for the movement of the human body. Human
muscles are discrete organs made of skeletal muscle tissues, blood vessels, tendons
and nerves found attached to the bones of the skeletal system.
The human body is composed of three types of muscles:
1. Cardiac muscles
2. Skeletal muscles
3. Smooth muscles
1. The Cardiac muscles: The cardiac muscle (heart muscle) forms a thick middle
layer between the outer layer of the heart wall (pericardium), and the inner layer
(endocardium) with blood supplied to circulate via the coronary circulation. The
cardiac muscle is an involuntary striated muscle composed of tissues of the wall of the
heart called myocardium. Individual cardiac muscle cells are joined together by
intercalated discs and are encased by collagen fibers to form the extracellular matrix
2. The Skeletal Muscle: The skeletal muscles arranged in opposing systems around
joints are attached to bones and are composed of 30 to 40% of total body mass. They
allow the body to perform a wide range of movements and functions such as
voluntary controlled systems on works. The skeletal muscle fibers innervated by a
single motor axon are called a motor unit.
3. The Smooth Muscles: The smooth muscles are involuntary, non-striated and
unconsciously controlled muscles that control the flow of substances within the
lumens. The Smooth muscles are muscles found in the walls of hollow organs: the
stomach, intestine, bladder, uterus and walls of passageways of the blood and lymph
vessels, respiratory tracts, urinary and reproductive systems, in the eyes and the
ciliary muscles. The smooth muscle cells of the skins are the erector of pili causing
hair to stand erect in response to cold, heat or fear.

5.1.2.Mechanism of actions of skeletal muscles


What are mechanisms of action?
Mechanisms of action of muscles are the process of activations of muscle cells to
generate tension or contract for movements. Skeletal muscles are bundles of muscle
fibers with single large cells formed by the fusion of many individual cells during
development. Most of the cytoplasm consists of myofibrils of cylindrical bundles of
two types of filaments of thick filaments of myosin and thin filaments of actin where
each is each organized as a chain of contractile unit called sarcomeres.
Actin and myosin are both proteins found in every type of muscle tissue where the
thick myosin filaments and thin actin filaments work together to generate contractions
and movement. Myosin is a type of molecular motor that converts chemical energy
released from ATP into mechanical energy used to pull the actin filaments along
causing muscle fibers to contract and generate. Actin filaments, together with myosin
are responsible for many types of cell movements. The most noticeable form of
movement is muscle contraction, which has provided the model for understanding
actin myosin interactions and the motor activity of myosin molecules.
Troponin is a complex system of three regulatory proteins integral to muscle
contraction in skeletal muscles. In a relaxed muscle, tropomyosin blocks the
attachment site for the myosin cross bridge preventing contraction.The binding of
myosin to actin causes cross bridge formation and contraction of the muscle.
Mechanism of actions in muscles:
1. Muscle activation: the motor nerve stimulates an action potential (impulse) to pass
down a neuron to the neuromuscular junction and stimulates the sarcoplasmic
reticulum to release calcium into the muscle cell.
2. Muscle contraction: Calcium floods into the muscle cells bound with troponin
allowing actin and myosin to bind, in which the actin and myosin cross bridges bind
and contract, using ATP as energy that all cells use to fuel activity.
3. Recharging: ATP is re-synthesized (re manufactured), allowing actin and myosin
to maintain a strong binding state. Relaxation: relaxation occurs when stimulation of
the nerve stops and pumps Calcium back into the sarcoplasmic reticulum breaking the
link between actin and myosin. Actin and myosin return to unbound state causing the
muscle to relax, but relaxation failure occurs if ATP is no longer available. In natural
movements, the activity of locomotors and muscle contractions is multifaceted to
produce changes in length and tension in a time-varying manner.
Muscle contraction occurs when the two-inter-digitizing filaments, the thin actin and
the thick myosin filaments, slide pass each other.
There are three types of muscle contractions:
1. Isometric: does not change the length
2. Concentric: shortening the muscle
3. Eccentric: lengthening the muscle fibers
5.1.2. The human axial and appendicular skeletons
What are human skeletons? The human skeletal system is a complex structure with
two distinct divisions composed of fused and individual bones supported by
ligaments, tendons, muscles, and cartilage.
Humans are born with over 300 bones, but many of the bones fuse between birth and
the end of maturity and remain with the average number of 206 bones in an adult
skeleton.
Bones have three different layers made from three different kinds of cells. The general
structure of bones is a combination of a protein called collagen and a molecule called
calcium phosphate that weave together to form a strong and lightweight structure.
Bones are composed of four types of cells. These are: 
Osteoblasts - involve in new bone formation. 
Osteocytes - are mature bone cells that help to mature bones of newborns. 
Osteoclasts - break down bones and help them to form into correct shapes. 
Osteoprogenitor - are important in repair of fracture.
Based on their shapes, there are four different types of bones in the human body:
1. Long bones have long and thin shapes.
2. Short bones have squat and cubed shapes.
3. Flat bones have flattened and broad surfaces.
4. Irregular bones have shapes that do not conform to the above three types.
5. Sesamoid bones are small, flat bones and are shaped similarly to a sesame seed
Table 5.1 General classifications of bones
Types of bones Names and parts
Long bones Femur and tibia (bones longer than wide)
Short bones Carpus (bone of wrists)
Flat bones Cranium (skull), ilium (pelvis), sternum, and ribs
Irregular bones Vertebrae, sacrum, coccyx , temporal, mandible, palatine,
nasal, etc.
Sesamoid bones Small sesame seed-like bones that are embedded in the
muscles

Functions of bones:
1. Support body and helping move: bones hold up body stability, keep from
collapsing to the ground, movement and body posture.
2. Protecting the internal organs: bones keep organs to be safe from hard impacts,
punctures, and other forms of injury (ribs protect the heart and lungs, and the skull
protects the brain).
3. Producing blood cells: certain types of bones make platelets, red blood cells, and
white blood cells inside bones.
4. Storing and releasing fat: certain bones store fat and release when body needs
energy.
5. Storing and releasing minerals: bones store necessary minerals when the levels are
too high in the blood and release minerals when the body needs them (calcium,
phosphorus, and vitamin D).

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