Introduction - Anatomy, Function, and Diseases of Muscles
This presentation aims to focus on developing an understanding of the anatomy, physiology, and pathology of the muscular system. Therefore, the objectives of this presentation are:
- Vitality of understanding the muscular system
- The muscular system is a foundational constituent of human anatomy
- Day-to-day activities are highly dependent on muscular function
- A holistic approach has been taken to emphasise the multifaceted relationship between nerves, muscles, and the circulatory system
The basic understanding of the muscular system is the beginning of understanding the multifaceted of human anatomy. On the other hand, beyond the enabling of movement, to maintain stability muscle plays a very crucial role and also in maintaining a balance of the overall health of an individual. Going deep into the components of the human anatomy, psychology, and pathology of this system, the overview of the captivating correlations in holds with different aspects of an individual’s well-being, further, this fundamental knowledge creates a wide and dynamic opportunity through which comprehensive understanding of the human body and its functions can be done effectively.
Muscular System
- The definition of the muscular system is emphasised taking into consideration of the complex network of organs
- The organs that are composed of blood vessels, muscle tissue, connective tissue, and nerves
- Muscles are termed to be as the major performers in the effective generation of movement
- On the other hand, highlighting the collaboration between nerves, blood vessels, and muscles
Further, the muscular system is more than mere muscles; on the other hand, it has great dynamics in its components which is a sort of network that involves different components working together in an alignment. It comprises blood vessels, nerves, muscle tissue, and connective tissue, it operates as a complicated system that assists in facilitating movement in humans and also assists in providing a balance for posture. Further, this correlation highlights the collaboration between various structures, such as nerves, blood vessels, and muscles which reflect the requirement for seamless communication. Further, the proper understanding of these multifaceted networks provides a platform for in-depth exploration which highlights the fact of how muscles contribute to the normal functioning of the human body.
Main Functions of Muscle Tissue
The main functions of the muscular system are:
- Mobility- The muscular system contributes to fine and gross movement, which includes:
Gross Movement-
- Walking
- Running
- Swimming
Fine Movement-
- Writing
- Speaking
- Facial Expression
- Stability- Muscle tendon stretch over the joint and provide stability
- Posture-Skeletal muscle helps the body to remain in the correct posture and position and helps in standing and sitting
- Circulation- heart muscle or cardiac muscle provides conscious movement and helps in blood circulation throughout the body. Smooth muscle contains veins and arteries which play an important role in blood circulation
- Urination- The urinary system comprises smooth and skeletal muscles which include
- Kidney
- Bladder
- Prostate
- Ureters
- Urethra
The muscle system works in collaboration with the nerves and helps in holding and releasing urine from the bladder
Apart from blood circulation, movement, providing mobility and stability with posture, other major functions of the Human Muscular system are help in respiration (diaphragm), vision (six skeletal muscles located around the eyes control the movement, and these muscles maintain the tracking of moving objects, scanning the surrounding areas, and maintaining the stable images)
- Major function of muscle tissue: the ability to contract and relax
- On the other hand, the major role in generating force and assisting in multiple bodily motions
- Further, supporting features such as manipulation, locomotion, and facial expression
- On the other hand, the implication for overall health and managing weight effectively
To contract and relax, muscular tissue plays the most crucial role which is the major component of the muscular system of the human body. On the other hand, this particular function is termed to be the fundamental function that acts as the driving force which is behind the diversified movement human bodies perform on a regular basis. Further, whether it is the locomotion of the muscles or the complicated expression of the human face which is controlled by relatively small muscles, understanding how the contractions of muscle add to movement is vital. Furthermore, assists in making recognition of the significance metabolism holds.
Five Major Features of Human Muscles
- Excitable or Irritable- Human muscles can receive stimulation and can respond to stimulation from the nerves
- Contractible- Human muscle can shorten and generate pulling forces
- Extensible-Muscle can be stretched without any external or internal damage by the application of force
- Elasticity- Muscle has the property of returning to its original resting shape and length after being contracted or extended. Some muscle movements are voluntary, which means the movement happens under conscious control, whereas some movements are involuntary, which means they do not occur under conscious control.
- Adaptability- The muscle or human muscular system is adaptable and it can change its shape based on the responses. For example, muscles can get enlarged or can undergo hypertrophy with the increased amount of work. On the other hand, the muscle can undergo atrophy
Human muscle and muscular system are characterised by significant features which can allow the muscle to move. Muscle cells are excitable, which means that muscle can respond to the stimulus, whereas contractile can be considered as another feature of muscle cells, which means that muscle tissue can get shorter or can generate pulling forces to respond to the stimulus. While attached to two movable bones, contraction of the muscles results in the movement of bones. Some of the movement of muscle can be categorized as voluntary, as it occurs under conscious control, whereas some movement can be characterised as involuntary, as it occurs under unconscious control.
Five Types of Muscle Movement
Introduction to the diversified display of movement of muscles-
- Flexion- Flexion is defined as the bending or reduction of joint angles.
- Abduction- Abduction is defined as a movement away from the midline of the body. This type of movement occurs in the frontal plane and around the anteroposterior axis. For example, in the abduction of an arm or leg, the movement occurs away from the median plane.
- Extension- this movement involves the increase of the tissue angle between two body part
- Adduction- this movement refers to the movement of body part towards the midline of the body, for example bringing the hand back to the side of the body
- Rotation- this movement involves the rotation of the body part around the axis. For example, turning the hand side to side
There is huge diversification when evaluating the movement of muscles, which ensures that a huge number of actions that are essential for day to day livelihood of individuals can be effectively performed. On the other hand, acknowledging and understanding terms such as; extension, flexion, adduction, abduction, and rotation gives an overview that assists in comprehending the contribution of muscles to different motions. Further, acknowledging the bending and reaching that we do on a daily basis or the exact motions we perform in sports improves our comprehension of the body's possibilities.
Types of Muscle Tissue:
There are three main types of muscles:
- Skeletal Muscle- it is specialised tissue attached to bone and allows movement
- Smooth Muscle- located in various internal structures, including the uterus, blood vessels, and digestive tract
- Cardiac Muscle- This muscle is specific to the heart and helps in contraction and relaxation
The muscular system consists of many muscle types, each having unique traits and purposes. On the other hand, precise motions are possible through skeletal muscles, which are voluntary and affixed to bones. Internal organs have smooth muscles, which function automatically and aid in functions like digesting. The heart's specific muscle, the cardiac muscle, makes rhythmic contractions possible for efficient circulation. This, on the other hand, will assist in acknowledging their locations smooth lining internal organs, skeletal attached to bones, and cardiac exclusive to the heart this assists in highlighting their specific roles.
Comparison of skeletal, cardiac, and smooth muscle
In the human body, there are three types of muscle: Skeletal (Striated), Cardiac muscle, and Smooth muscle.
Skeletal Muscle:
- Skeletal muscle is attached to the bone and it is responsible for skeletal movement.
- The peripheral portion of the CNS or Central Nervous System controls the movement of skeletal muscle.
- The muscle movement is referred to as voluntary movement, which occurs under conscious control
- The basic unit of skeletal muscle fibre is the nucleus which comprises a transverse streak
Smooth Muscle:
- Smooth muscle located in the walls of internal organs like blood vessels, uterus, bladder, and GI tract or gastrointestinal tract
- The movement of Smooth Muscle cannot be controlled consciously and acts as an involuntary movement
- The shape of the smooth muscle is spindle and has one central nucleus
Cardiac Muscle:
- It is found in the wall of the heart
- The movement of the Cardiac muscle is controlled by the central nervous system or CNS
- It comprises one central nucleus and its shape is striated
- Cardiac muscle is rectangular in shape and contraction is involuntary
The skeletal muscle is considered as the organ of the muscular system and each muscle is comprised of muscle tissue, connective tissue, vascular tissue, blood tissue, and nerve tissue. The size of the skeletal muscle varies in shape, size, and arrangement of fibres, and each fibre is arranged in a single cylindrical muscle cell. the skeletal muscle is covered with the connective tissues, which is known as epimysium, and each bundle of muscle fibre is known as fasciculus and surrounded by the connective tissues, which is known as perimysium.
Smooth muscle is present throughout the body, starting from the intestine to the stomach, where it helps in digestion and collection of nutrients. In the urinary system, smooth muscle helps to excrete the toxin and control the holding and excretion of urine from the uterus. This muscle comprises thick and thin filaments, which do not arrange in sarcomeres and give the shape of non-striated patterns. Smooth muscle contains cytoplasm which is made up of actin and myosin and acts as the main protein in muscle contraction. Unlike Skeletal muscle, smooth muscle is composed of mesoderm and neural crest cells.
The cardiac muscle also known as the myocardium, is one of the most important categories in the muscle system, which is made up of the sarcomere and allows contractility. Unlike skeletal muscle, cardiac muscle is involuntary in movement. The cardiac muscle cell is striated and branched and contains several mitochondria and its action is involuntary. Every myocyte comprises a single, centrally located nucleus which is surrounded by the sarcolemma. The Sarcolemma of the cardiac muscle is comprised of voltage-gated calcium ion channels, which is lacking in skeletal muscle.
Name a disease of the muscular system including the causes, changes to anatomical and physiological function
Muscle Disease- it refers to the condition which affects the muscle system
Muscle Diseases can be categorised into two classes:
- Primary Disease – it occurs from the abnormalities in muscle cells or tissues
- Secondary Disease- it occurs due to conditions which can trigger the onset of abnormalities in muscle cells.
Some examples of Primary Muscle Diseases are:
- Polymyositis
- Dermatomyositis
- Muscular dystrophy
- Myasthenia gravis
Secondary Muscle Diseases: some conditions that can cause secondary muscle diseases are
- HIV/AIDS
- Immunological conditions
- Metabolic disorders
- Infectious diseases
- Endocrine disorders
Both the primary and secondary muscular system diseases can affect the muscles and nerves which can eventually result the muscle wasting and loss of muscle mass.
Muscle disorders that cause changes to anatomical structures:
- Rhabdomyolyis- it is a secondary muscle disease and causes muscle breakdown
- Sarcopenia- it is a Secondary muscle disorder that causes loss of muscle mass
- Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis or ALS- is a primary muscle disorder and can be termed a progressive neurodegenerative disorder which affects the nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord and results in weakness of muscle and atrophy
- MD or Muscular Dystrophy- it affects the voluntary muscle movement and control movement of arms, legs, and trunk.
Muscular disorders, both primary and secondary disorders can significantly impact on the anatomical change of muscle structures. For example, Rhabdomyolysis is a secondary muscle disorder which causes muscle breakdown, and releases myoglobin into the bloodstream. on the other hand, Sarcopenia causes the loss of muscle mass. MD or Muscular Dystrophy is a group of genetic disorders that affect voluntary muscle movement and results in impairment in limbs and trunk.
Name a disease of the muscular system which causes physiological changes:
- Sarcopenia- age-related muscle disorder which causes loss of muscle mass, and contributes to the reduction of muscle function and strengths
- Dermatomyositis- a rare condition which causes muscle inflammation (symmetric proximal muscle weakness)
- MG or Myasthenia gravis- it is a chronic autoimmune disorder in which antibodies destroy the communication between nerves and muscle and cause weakness in skeletal muscle
Note: Muscle disease can be caused due to aging which in turn can result the changes in bone and tissue physiology, in terms of reduction of elasticity of tendons, and ligaments, and decrease of muscle flexibility.
Pathological processes and changes in structure and function of muscle in response to diseases
Pathological processes and changes in the structure and function of muscle in response to any muscle disorders or disease are complex.
The changes in muscle due to diseases are:
- Atrophy
- Hypertrophy
- Fibrosis
- Inflammation
- Necrosis
- Contracture
Note: the pathological changes in muscle tissue caused by the immobilization-induced joint contracture which can include the disuse of the skeletal muscle atrophy, fibrosis and so on. Muscle atrophy like denervation, chronic inflammation can trigger the loss of muscle mass on the other hand, fibrosis refers to the pathological condition, where chronic inflammation occurs and can be induced by excessive deposition of fibrous connective tissues.
Conclusion
This presentation has highlighted on following points:
- Understanding the muscular system – an exploration of the vital functions and features of the muscular system in human anatomy
- Functions and dynamics: in this presentation, focus has been given to the multifaceted functions and components of the muscular system in collaboration with nerve and blood vessels
- Types of muscles and diseases related to the muscle system
- In this presentation, focus has also been given on the brief discussion of three main types of muscle system: cardiac muscle, skeletal muscle, and smooth muscle
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