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Smooth Muscle Physiology. Muscular System Functions. Body movement (Locomotion) Maintenance of posture Respiration Diaphragm and intercostal contractions Communication (Verbal and Facial) Constriction of organs and vessels Peristalsis of intestinal tract
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Muscular System Functions • Body movement (Locomotion) • Maintenance of posture • Respiration • Diaphragm and intercostal contractions • Communication (Verbal and Facial) • Constriction of organs and vessels • Peristalsis of intestinal tract • Vasoconstriction of b.v. and other structures (pupils) • Heart beat • Production of body heat (Thermogenesis)
Properties of Muscle • Excitability: capacity of muscle to respond to a stimulus • Contractility: ability of a muscle to shorten and generate pulling force • Extensibility: muscle can be stretched back to its original length • Elasticity: ability of muscle to recoil to original resting length after stretched
Types of Muscle • Skeletal • Attached to bones • Makes up 40% of body weight • Responsible for locomotion, facial expressions, posture, respiratory movements, other types of body movement • Voluntary in action; controlled by somatic motor neurons • Smooth • In the walls of hollow organs, blood vessels, eye, glands, uterus, skin • Some functions: propel urine, mix food in digestive tract, dilating/constricting pupils, regulating blood flow, • In some locations, autorhythmic • Controlled involuntarily by endocrine and autonomic nervous systems • Cardiac • Heart: major source of movement of blood • Autorhythmic • Controlled involuntarily by endocrine and autonomic nervous systems
Connective Tissue Sheaths • Connective Tissue of a Muscle • Epimysium. Dense regular c.t. surrounding entire muscle • Separates muscle from surrounding tissues and organs • Connected to the deep fascia • Perimysium. Collagen and elastic fibers surrounding a group of muscle fibers called a fascicle • Contains b.v and nerves • Endomysium. Loose connective tissue that surrounds individual muscle fibers • Also contains b.v., nerves, and satellite cells (embryonic stem cells function in repair of muscle tissue • Collagen fibers of all 3 layers come together at each end of muscle to form a tendon or aponeurosis.
Nerve and Blood Vessel Supply • Motor neurons • stimulate muscle fibers to contract • Neuron axons branch so that each muscle fiber (muscle cell) is innervated • Form a neuromuscular junction (= myoneural junction) • Capillary beds surround muscle fibers • Muscles require large amts of energy • Extensive vascular network delivers necessary oxygen and nutrients and carries away metabolic waste produced by muscle fibers
Smooth Muscle • Fusiform cells • One nucleus per cell • Nonstriated • Involuntary • Slow, wave-like contractions
Smooth Muscle • Cells are not striated • Fibers smaller than those in skeletal muscle • Spindle-shaped; single, central nucleus • More actin than myosin • No sarcomeres • Not arranged as symmetrically as in skeletal muscle, thus NO striations. • Caveolae: indentations in sarcolemma; • May act like T tubules • Dense bodies instead of Z disks • Have noncontractile intermediate filaments
Smooth Muscle • Grouped into sheets in walls of hollow organs • Longitudinal layer – muscle fibers run parallel to organ’s long axis • Circular layer – muscle fibers run around circumference of the organ • Both layers participate in peristalsis
Smooth Muscle • Is innervated by autonomic nervous system (ANS) • Visceral or unitary smooth muscle • Only a few muscle fibers innervated in each group • Impulse spreads through gap junctions • Who sheet contracts as a unit • Often autorhythmic • Multiunit: • Cells or groups of cells act as independent units • Arrector pili of skin and iris of eye
Gap junctions Pacemaker cells with spontaneous depolarizations Innervation to few cells Tone = level of contraction without stimulation Increases/decreases in tension Graded Contractions No recruitment Vary intracellular calcium Stretch Reflex Relaxation in response to sudden or prolonged stretch Properties of Single-Unit Smooth Muscle
Disorders of Muscle Tissue • Muscle tissues experience few disorders • Heart muscle is the exception • Skeletal muscle – remarkably resistant to infection • Smooth muscle – problems stem from external irritants