15: Muscular System
- Page ID
- 22552
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This chapter describes the structure and functions of the muscular system. It compares and contrasts the three major types of muscle tissue and explains in detail how muscles contract according to the sliding filament theory. The chapter also relates physical exercise to fitness and health and describes several musculoskeletal and neuromuscular disorders.
- 15.1: Case Study - Muscles and Movement
- This dog is expressing his interest in something — perhaps a piece of food — by using the neck muscles to tilt its head in an adorable fashion.
- 15.2: Introduction to the Muscular System
- Does the word muscle make you think of the well-developed muscles of a weightlifter, like the woman in this photo? Her name is Natalia Zabolotnaya, and she’s a Russian Olympian. The muscles that are used to lift weights are easy to feel and see, but they aren’t the only muscles in the human body.
- 15.3: Types of Muscle Tissue
- He turns his gray-blue eyes in your direction—a very small movement, considering the conspicuously large and strong external eye muscles that control eyeball movements. These muscles have been called the strongest muscles in the human body relative to the work they do. However, the external eye muscles actually do a surprising amount of work.
- 15.4: Muscle Contraction
- It’s obvious that a sport like arm wrestling depends on muscle contractions. Arm wrestlers must contract muscles in their hands and arms, and keep them contracted in order to resist the opposing force exerted by their opponent. The wrestler whose muscles can contract with greater force wins the match.
- 15.5: Physical Exercise
- Physical exercise is any bodily activity that enhances or maintains physical fitness and overall health and wellness. We generally think of physical exercise as activities that are undertaken for the main purpose of improving physical fitness and health. However, physical activities that are undertaken for other purposes may also count as physical exercise. Scrubbing a floor, raking a lawn, or playing active games with young children or a dog are all activities that can have fitness and health b
- 15.6: Disorders of the Muscular System
- Musculoskeletal disorders are injuries that occur in muscles or associated tissues (such as tendons) because of biomechanical stresses. They may be caused by sudden exertion, over-exertion, repetitive motions, or long periods maintaining awkward positions. Musculoskeletal disorders are often work- or sports-related, and generally just one or a few muscles are affected. They can often be treated successfully, and full recovery can be very likely.
- 15.7: Case Study Conclusion: Needing to Relax and Chapter Summary
- As you learned in the beginning of this chapter, botulinum toxin — one form of which is sold under the brand name Botox — does much more than smooth out wrinkles. It can be used to treat a number of disorders involving excessive muscle contraction, including cervical dystonia. You also learned that cervical dystonia, which Edward suffers from, causes abnormal, involuntary muscle contractions of the neck. This results in jerky movements of the head and neck, and/or a sustained abnormal tilt to th