MSM - Introduction to the Muscular System Lesson
Introduction to the Muscular System
There are over 600 muscles in the body, and they are all part of the muscular system. Muscle tissue is specialized with the ability to contract and relax when stimulated which allows a person to move. This includes actions from running to the pumping of the heart.
Functions of the muscular system include:
- Produce movement: Muscle contraction provides movement for the human body.
- Maintains posture: Muscles adjust continuously to provide coordination of movement, stabilizing joints. Skeletal muscles pull against bones to cause movement and stabilize the joints of the skeleton.
- Generating heat: As ATP is used to provide energy for muscle contraction, almost 75% of the energy escapes as heat. This heat provides the majority of body heat needed for survival.
Muscle cells, known as myocytes, make up every muscle in the body.
Myocytes are long, thin cells (also called muscle fibers) that have the ability to get shorter. This special ability is called a muscle contraction.
Some muscle movement can be controlled; however certain muscles can move without having to think about them. Muscles that are under conscious control are called voluntary muscles.
Muscles that are not under conscious control are called involuntary muscles.
There are three types of muscles in the body: skeletal (stratified), smooth, and cardiac.
Learn about each muscle type in the learning object below.
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