The Muscular System

Human Anatomy
The Muscular System
Corcotcha, Danice Joy

Gabutan, Jurely Mae P.
The Muscular System
❖ Functions of Muscles
❖ Structure of the skeletal muscle
❖ Types of Muscles
❖ How Muscles Work
❖ Muscle Fibre Types
❖ The Major Muscles and action
❖ Types of Contraction
❖ Primary Muscle diseases
❖ How to take care of the muscles
TRIVIA!
❖ There are 640 Muscles in the human body
❖ The Sartorius is the longest muscle in the body
❖ The Stapedius is the smallest muscle in the body
❖ The Gluteus Maximus is the biggest muscle in the body
❖ Muscles make up approximately 40 percent

of total weight.
Functions of the Muscles
❖ Enable us to move our body parts.
❖ Give us our individual shape.
❖ Protect and keep in place our abdominal
organs.
❖ Enable us to maintain good posture.
❖ Help in the circulation of our blood.
❖ Generate body heat when they contract.
Structure of the Skeletal Muscle
Types of Muscles
❖ Skeletal/Striated or Voluntary Muscle
❖ Smooth or Involuntary Muscles.
❖ Cardiac Muscle
1. SKELETAL or VOLUNTARY
MUSCLES
They are under our conscious control.This
means we instruct them to perform everyday
actions such as walking, running and jumping.
THE MAJOR SKELETAL
MUSCLES
• Deltoid • Trapezius
• Biceps • Triceps
• Abdominals( 4 muscles) • Gluteals (3 muscles)
• Quadriceps(4 muscles) • Hamstrings (3 muscles)
• Pectorals • Gastrocnemius
• Latissimus dorsi
MUSCLE MAIN FUNCTIONS
Deltoid Raises your arm sideways at the shoulder

Biceps Bends your arm at the elbow
Abdominals Pull in your abdomen. Flex your trunk so you can bend forward.
Quadriceps Straighten your leg at the knee and keep it straight when you stand.
Pectorals Raises your arm at the shoulder. Draws it across your chest
Latissimus dorsi Pulls your arm down at the shoulder. Draws it behind your back
Trapezius Holds and rotates your shoulders. Moves your head back and sideways
Triceps Straightens your arm at the elbow

Gluteals Pull your leg back at the hip. Raise it sideways at the hip. Gluteus maximus is
the biggest
Hamstrings Bend your leg at the knee
Gastrocnemius Straightens the ankle joint so you can stand on tiptoes
SKELETAL or VOLUNTARY MUSCLES
CHARACTERISTICS
❖ Cylindrical
❖ Striated
❖ Multinucleated
❖ Contain many mitochondria
❖ Present in skeletal muscles
2. SMOOTH or INVOLUNTARY
MUSCLES
These muscles work automatically – they are not
under our conscious control.
e.g. Muscles of the digestive system.

SMOOTH or INVOLUNTARY MUSCLE
CELL CHARACTERISTICS
❖ Spindle shaped
❖ Single central nucleus
❖ Arranged in sheets
❖ Present in muscular layers
of the vessels, and
within internal organs
3. CARDIAC MUSCLE
❖ Cardiac is a special type of involuntary Muscle.
❖ It is ONLY found in the heart.
❖ It contracts regularly, continuously and without tiring.
❖ It works automatically but is under
constant nervous and chemical
control.
CARDIAC MUSCLE CELL
CHARACTERISTICS
❖ Rectangular in shape
❖ Single nucleus
❖ Contain many mitochondria
❖ Communicate via intercalated discs
❖ Present in myocardium
(cardiac muscle)
HOW MUSCLES WORK
TOGETHER
Muscles can only contract. If one muscle contracts to bring
two bones together another muscle is need to Contract to
bring the bones apart again.
MUSCLES ALWAYS WORK IN PAIRS

We need large numbers of pairs of muscles to work together
in different ways for even simple body movements. Our
muscles take on different roles depending on the movement
they are performing.
MUSCLES CAN WORK AS
❖ Flexors – contracting to bend our joints.
❖ Extensors – contracting to straighten joints.
❖ Prime movers (agonists) – contracting to start a movement.
❖ Antagonists – relaxing to allow movement to take place.
❖ Fixators – contracting to give the working muscles a firm
base.
❖ Synergists – stabilising the area around the prime mover
and fine tuning our movement.
HOW ARE MUSCLES ATTACHED
TO BONES?
Muscles are usually attached to 2 or more different bones.
The muscle fibres end in a strong, white flexible cord,called a
TENDON.
At the bone, the fibres of the tendons are embedded in the

PERIOSTEUM of the bone. This anchors the tendon strongly and
spreads the force of the Contraction
REMEMBER:
Tendons join muscle to bone.
Ligaments join bone to bone.
Muscle Fibres
Our muscles are made up cells called muscle fibres. These tiny
threadlike fibres are packed together in bundles. Muscles contract
(shorten) because the fibres do.Muscle fibres don’t all contract
together. The number contracting at any one time depends on how
much force is needed
MUSCLE FIBRE TYPES
1. SLOW-TWITCH
2. FAST-TWITCH
FAST-TWITCH MUSCLE FIBRES
❖ Do not have a good oxygen supply.
❖ Tire very quickly.
❖ Are stronger than slow-twitch fibres.
❖ Contract very quickly.
❖ Are used when we need fast, powerful movements.
❖ Are used only in high intensity exercise.
SLOW-TWITCH MUSCLE FIBRES
❖ Have a very good oxygen supply.
❖ Work for a long time without tiring.
❖ Are not as strong as fast-twitch fibres
❖ Take longer to contract.
❖ Are used in all types of exercise.
❖ Are used especially in aerobic activities
MIXTURE OF MUSCLE FIBRES
Every muscle contains a mixture of fast and slow twitch muscle fibres.
BUT the mixture is different in different muscles
e.g.
the gastrocnemius contains a lot of fast twitch fibres so standing on
your toes is tiring
The mixture is different for different people. Some distance runners

have 80% slow twitch fibres while some powerlifters have 80% fast
twitches
•MIXTURE OF MUSCLE FIBRES
The more fast twitch fibres you have the more suited you are to sports
requiring bursts of strength and power.
If we jog slowly, only a few of our slow-twitch fibres contract to move

our legs. When we increase our speed e use more slow-twitch fibres.
As we run faster our fast-twitch fibres also start to contract to help
out.More and more will start to contract as we run even faster. At top
speed all of our fast-twitch and slow-twitch fibres will be working
Muscle hypertrophy – the muscle increases is size
Muscle atrophy – muscle decreases in size.

Even when a muscle is relaxed, a small number of fibres are
contracted – enough to keep the muscle taut but not enough to cause
movement.This partial state of contraction is called Muscle Tone
Without muscle tone you would not be able to stand up straight!
To maintain muscle tone without getting tired, groups of muscles take

it in turns to contact. They work in relays.
Poor muscle tone leads to poor posture. Exercise improves muscle

tone – it makes the fibres thicker so they contract more strongly
These are 3 main types of muscular
contraction:
❖ Isotonic and concentric
❖ Isotonic and eccentric
❖ Isometric
ISOTONIC & CONCENTRIC
❖ Our muscles shorten as they contract
❖ The ends of the muscle move closer together
Example:the biceps during a pull-up
❖ Most sporting movements are of this type

ISOTONIC AND ECCENTRIC
❖ Our muscles lengthen as they contract under
tension
❖ The ends of the muscle move further apart
Example: The biceps when we lower down from a
pull-up
❖ Plyometric exercise uses eccentric contractions
ISOMETRIC
❖ Tension increases, muscle length remains the same. Important

in maintaining posture
Example: Antigravity muscle
Primary Muscle Diseases
❖ Polymyositis (PM): This a rare type of inflammatory myopathy

(also called myosotis), a group of muscle diseases that cause
inflammation of muscle and their associated tissues, including
blood vessels.
❖ Dermatomyositis (DM): DM is a rare inflammatory muscle

disease affecting people of any age or sex, although it's more
often seen in women.
❖ Muscular dystrophy (MD): MD is a group of inherited muscle

diseases.
❖ Myasthenia gravis (MG): MG is a neuromuscular disease that

causes weakness of the skeletal muscles, resulting from
impaired communication between nerve cells and muscles.
❖ Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS): ALS, also called Lou

Gehrig’s disease, is a group of rare neurological diseases
affecting the nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord. ALS
affects the muscles responsible for voluntary muscle
movement.
❖ Rhabdomyolysis: Rhabdomyolysis is a muscle disease that

causes the breakdown of skeletal muscle. This breakdown
causes myoglobin release in the bloodstream—a protein that
stores oxygen in the muscles.
❖ Cardiomyopathy: Cardiomyopathy—also called heart muscle

disease—is a type of progressive disease affecting cardiac
muscle.
Four Ways to Take Care of the
Muscular System
1. Resistance Training
Resistance training increases muscle size by building
thicker protein filaments, creating more fluid in the muscle
cells and creating more myofibrils, which contain the protein
filaments of the muscles.
Muscular System
2. Aerobic Exercise
Aerobic exercise has several beneficial effects on the
muscular system. It strengthens the heart, increases
endurance, improves muscle strength, increases muscle
tone and helps to reduce body fat.
Muscular System
3. Correct posture
Posture has a significant effect on the efficiency of the
muscles and the amount of force required to carry out tasks.
Poor posture also makes it difficult for the muscles and
bones to work together to produce movement.
Muscular System
4. Maintain Normal Weight

Extra weight puts stress on the muscles and forces them to
work harder. Maintaining a normal weight reduces this
stress and prevents muscle aches and strains.
There are about 6o muscles in the face.
Smiling is easier than frowning.

It takes 20 muscles to smile and over 40 to frown.
Smile and make

someone happy :)

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Human Anatomy

The Muscular System

Corcotcha, Danice Joy

❖ The Sartorius is the longest muscle in the body

❖ The Stapedius is the smallest muscle in the body

❖ The Gluteus Maximus is the biggest muscle in the body

❖ Muscles make up approximately 40 percent

Deltoid Raises your arm sideways at the shoulder

Triceps Straightens your arm at the elbow

e.g. Muscles of the digestive system.

MUSCLES ALWAYS WORK IN PAIRS

At the bone, the fibres of the tendons are embedded in the

The mixture is different for different people. Some distance runners

If we jog slowly, only a few of our slow-twitch fibres contract to move

Muscle atrophy – muscle decreases in size.

To maintain muscle tone without getting tired, groups of muscles take

Poor muscle tone leads to poor posture. Exercise improves muscle

❖ Isotonic and concentric

❖ Isotonic and eccentric

❖ The ends of the muscle move closer together

Example:the biceps during a pull-up

❖ Most sporting movements are of this type

❖ Tension increases, muscle length remains the same. Important

❖ Polymyositis (PM): This a rare type of inflammatory myopathy

❖ Dermatomyositis (DM): DM is a rare inflammatory muscle

❖ Muscular dystrophy (MD): MD is a group of inherited muscle

❖ Myasthenia gravis (MG): MG is a neuromuscular disease that

❖ Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS): ALS, also called Lou

❖ Rhabdomyolysis: Rhabdomyolysis is a muscle disease that

❖ Cardiomyopathy: Cardiomyopathy—also called heart muscle

4. Maintain Normal Weight

Smiling is easier than frowning.

Smile and make

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