Muscles, its types, structure & functions Prepared by: Khushal Khan

Muscles
Bundles of fibrous tissue
Contract to produce movement or maintain body position
Muscle mass composed of specialized contractile cells
Called Fibers, muscle cells, or myocytes
Properties of Muscles
Muscle tissue has 4 main properties:
1) Excitability - ability to respond to stimuli.
2) Contractibility - ability to contract.
3) Extensibility - ability of a muscle to be stretched without tearing.
4) Elasticity - ability to return to its normal shape.
Functions of Muscles
1. Force Production and Movement
2. Body Support
3. Posture Adjustment
4. Joint Stability
5. Heat Production
6. Body Form Provision
Types of Muscles
A human body is composed of;
 Skeletal muscles about 40%
 Smooth and Cardiac muscles about 10%

3 types of muscle tissue are identified:

i. Smooth Muscles
ii. Cardiac Muscles
iii. Skeletal Muscles
1- Smooth Muscles
Structure: Non-striated, spindle-shaped cells
Location: Found in walls of internal organs, blood vessels, and airways
Involuntary Control: Not under conscious control
Non-Striated: Lacks light and dark bands
Cell Structure: Small, uninucleated, spindle-shaped cells
Location: Forms sheets in walls of hollow organs and tubular structures (alimentary canal, ureter, and blood vessels)
Function: Involuntary control; regulates organ movements
Innervation: Controlled by branches of the autonomic nervous system
Influence on Contraction: Hormones and local metabolites can influence contraction, e.g., adrenaline dilates airways
2- Cardiac Muscles
Structure: Striated, branching cells with intercalated discs
Location: Forms the muscular wall of the heart (myocardium)
Cell Structure: Uninucleated cells arranged in whorls and spirals
Striated Appearance: Striped muscle fibers
Intercalated Discs: Joined end to end by cell junctions
Function: Involuntary control; pumps blood through the circulatory system
Innervation: Controlled by the autonomic nervous system
Regulation: Heart rate intrinsically regulated by SA node composed of special cardiac muscle fibers
3- Skeletal Muscles
Structure: Striated, multinucleated cells
Location: Attached to bones by tendons
Voluntary Control: Under conscious control
Shape: Consists of non-branching fibers, Roughly cylindrical, lying parallel to one another
Striated Appearance: Striped muscle fibers
Variability in Size and Shape: Dependent on architecture and function
Functional Variability: Allows for effective performance over a wide range of tasks
 Thick muscles like gluteal muscles
 Long and slender muscles like the Sartorius
 Muscles with long tendons, like the finger extensors
Function: Voluntary control; produces movement, maintains posture, and generates heat
Structural Organization of Skeletal Muscle

A skeletal muscle is structurally organized as follows;

1. Muscle (organ)
2. Fascicles
3. Muscle Fiber
4. Myofibril
5. Sarcomere
Muscle Anatomy
A muscle consists of a large number of muscle fibres.
Fascia: Thick fibrous tissue separating muscles from neighboring tissues

Connective Tissue Layers

Epimysium: Surrounds the entire muscle tissue beneath the fascia
Perimysium: Divides the muscle into bundles of fibers
Endomysium: Surrounds individual muscle fibers
Muscle Components
Muscle Belly: Fleshy part of the muscle that contracts and bulges when activated
Tendon: Connective tissue structure at the ends of the muscle, attaching it to bone
Aponeurosis: Broad sheet of connective tissue, sometimes forming instead of a tendon
Fascicle
Fascicles: Bundles of muscle cells within the muscle
Perimysium: Connective tissue sheath surrounding each fascicle
Muscle Fiber
Myocytes: Individual muscle cells within fascicles
Endomysium: Fine connective tissue layer surrounding each muscle fiber

Muscle Fiber Characteristics

 Shape: Cylindrical
 Diameter: Ranges from 10 to 80 micrometers
 Fiber Length: Typically extends the entire length of the muscle
 Exception: Approximately 2% of fibers may not extend the full length
Each fiber typically innervated by one nerve ending
Nerve ending typically located near the middle of the fiber

Muscle Fiber Structure

 Sarcolemma: Cell membrane enclosing each muscle fiber
Sarcoplasm Composition
 Cytoplasm: Known as sarcoplasm within muscle fibers
 Contains:
1. Nuclei
2. Myofibrils
3. Golgi apparatus
4. Mitochondria
5. Sarcoplasmic reticulum
6. Ribosomes
7. Lipids
8. Glycogen
Myofibrils
Each muscle fiber contains several hundred to several thousand Components of a Myofibril:
myofibrils. i. I – Band (Light Band)
 Composed of myosin and actin filaments ii. A – Band (Dark Band)
iii. Z – Disc
iv. M – Line
Myosin and Actin Filaments:
v. H – Zone
 Myosin: Thick filaments
vi. Sarcomere
 Actin: Thin filaments
vii. Sarcoplasm
viii. Sarcoplasmic Reticulum
Interdigitation of Filaments: ix. T - Tubules
 Myosin and actin filaments partially interdigitate
 Results in alternate light and dark bands in myofibrils
I - Band (Light Band):
 Contains only actin filaments
 Called I bands due to isotropic nature to polarized light
 Light refracted at the same angle

A - Band (Dark Band):

 Contains myosin filaments and overlapping ends of actin filaments
 Called A bands due to anisotropic nature to polarized light
 Light refracted at different angles
 Cross-Bridges:
 Small projections from sides of myosin
 Interact with actin filaments
 Cause muscle contraction through their interaction with actin
Z-Disc:
 Delineates the lateral borders of sarcomeres
 Smallest functional units in striated muscle
 Acts as attachment site for ends of actin filaments
 Actin filaments extend from Z-disc to interdigitate with myosin filaments

H - Zone:
 Light area in the middle of the A-Band
 Discovered by Henson
 Contains middle part of myosin filament
 M-Line formed by myosin binding proteins

Sarcomere:
 Portion of myofibril between two successive Z-discs
Sarcoplasm:
 Intracellular fluid surrounding myofibrils
 Contains potassium, magnesium, phosphate, protein enzymes, and mitochondria
 Mitochondria supply energy in form of ATP for muscle contraction

Sarcotubular System:
 Membranous structures of vesicles and tubules within sarcoplasm

Sarcoplasmic Reticulum:
 Specialized endoplasmic reticulum of skeletal muscle
 Regulates calcium storage, release, and reuptake
 Extensive in rapidly contracting muscle fibers

T-Tubules:
 Consists of T-tubules and sarcoplasmic reticulum
 Narrow tubules formed by invagination of sarcolemma
 Rapidly transmit action potentials from sarcolemma to myofibril
Sarcomere
A sarcomere is the fundamental contractile unit of a myofibril in striated muscles.
Sarcomere is the site for sliding filament contraction.

Structure:
 Sarcomere defined as the region between two successive Z disks.
 Composed of 2 main protein filaments: Actin and Myosin.

Functionality:
 Actin and Myosin filaments are the active structures driving muscular contraction.
Mechanism of Sarcomere Contraction
Sliding Filament Contraction:
 Sarcomere is the site for sliding filament contraction.

Contraction Process:
 Myosin myofilaments move over actin myofilaments during contraction.
 This action contracts the sarcomere.

Key Regions:
 I and H bands within the sarcomere compress and expand to aid movement.

Myofilaments Function:
 Myofilaments (Actin and Myosin) don't expand or contract themselves.
Contractile Proteins
Each sarcomere is composed of two main protein filaments which are the active structures responsible for
muscular contraction.
1. Actin
2. Myosin
Actin Filaments
Composition: Made of actin molecules, forming F-Actin (polymer of small protein G-actin).
Structure: Thin filaments with a diameter of 20 A and length of 1 micrometer.
Distribution: Extend from Z-line, across I-band, and enter A-band up to H-zone.
Arrangement: Actin molecules arranged in a double-helix structure.
Active Sites: Each F-actin molecule possesses an active site for myosin head attachment.
Quantity: Typically, 300-400 actin molecules form an actin filament.
Myosin Filaments
Composition: Thick filaments consisting of myosin molecules.
Structure: Diameter of 115 A and length of 1.5 micrometers.
Location: Situated in the A-band of the sarcomere.
Molecule Components: Each myosin molecule comprises a head and tail.
Tail Structure: Made of 2 heavy chains twisted in a double-helix.
Head Structure: Globular head portion formed where heavy chains turn away.
Light Chains: 2 light chains attached to each part of the head.
Attachment Sites: Myosin head has 2 attachment sites - for actin filament and ATP molecule.
Absence: Myosin head is absent in the central part of myosin filament (H-zone).
Regulatory Proteins

Troponin Tropomyosin
 It is found by 3 subunits;  Approximately 40 to 60 tropomyosin molecules are
aligned along the double-helix structure of the actin
1) Troponin I, which is attached to F-actin. filament.
2) Troponin T, which is attached to tropomyosin.
 In the relaxed state of the muscle, tropomyosin
3) Troponin C, which is attached to calcium ions. molecules cover all the active sites on the F-actin
molecules.
Stabilizing Proteins
Other than the contractile proteins, the sarcomere contains several other proteins such as;
1. Actinin - which attaches actin filament to the Z-line.
2. Desmin - which binds the Z- line to the sarcolemma.
3. Nebulin - which runs close and parallel to actin filaments.
4. Titin - a large protein connecting M-line and Z-line.
 Each titin molecule is filamentous, it is very springy.
 Each titin molecule forms a network for sarcomere and provides elasticity to the muscle.
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