Muscles are the tissues that have the ability to contract and relax, which in turn facilitates movement and locomotion. The bone can be moved adjacent to the muscle. Muscles are attached to bones by tendons.
Cardiac muscle is responsible for the pumping action of the heart while smooth muscle is involved in involuntary movements. The human muscular system consists of more than 600 muscles, accounting for 30 to 40 percent of the total body weight.
Three Types of Muscles
- Skeletal or striated muscles
- Cardiac muscles
- Smooth muscles
Interesting Facts About Muscles
- Muscles are the soft tissue or flesh in the bone. These muscles work in pairs to drive movement to the bone. Muscles are also classified into different types based on their contractility, elasticity, excitability and extensibility.
- Red and white muscles are two different types of muscles that perform different physiological functions.
- Smooth muscles and cardiac muscles are called involuntary muscles because their actions are controlled by the autonomic nervous system in the body.
- Integumentary muscles are involuntary smooth muscles that often stimulate contraction of blood vessels, digestive system, reproductive system and other organ systems in our body.
- Skeletal muscles are called voluntary muscles, because actions are under the control of the somatosensory nervous system.
- The masseter muscle at the back of the jaw is the strongest muscle in the human body. This is the large muscle of the cheek and works by opening and closing the jaw when chewing food.
- During muscle contraction, short hairs slide over thick hairs and at the same time a signal is sent to the central nervous system via motor neurons to initiate muscle fiber activation.
- Muscle fatigue occurs due to repetitive muscle activity, which leads to a build-up of lactic acid. This causes a muscle to shrink.
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