Muscular System Review Flashcards

Questions and Answers

What are the functions of the muscular system?

The muscular system helps with body movement, supports body posture, produces heat and energy, protects internal organs, helps make blood, food, and waste products, and opens and closes body openings.

What are the four common traits of all muscles?

Excitability or Irritability, contractibility, extensibility, and elasticity.

What is muscle tone?

Muscle tone refers to the ability of muscles to be slightly contracted at all times, even when not in use.

What are the three types of muscles, and what is the function of each?

<ol> <li>Cardiac muscle: pumps blood in the heart. 2. Visceral (smooth) muscle: facilitates movement in hollow organs. 3. Skeletal muscle: produces body movement.</li> </ol> Signup and view all the answers

What is the anatomical make-up of each muscle type?

Skeletal: striated with alternating light and dark bands. Visceral: spindle-shaped cells without cross stripes. Cardiac: striated and often branched cells. Signup and view all the answers

What is atrophy?

Atrophy is a reduction in size and strength of the muscle. Signup and view all the answers

What is contracture?

Contracture is a severe tightening of muscle resulting in permanent bending of a joint. Signup and view all the answers

What is muscle strain?

Muscle strain is torn or stretched muscles or tendons. Signup and view all the answers

What are the causes, symptoms, and treatment of muscle strain?

Causes: muscle overuse or overstretching. Symptoms: pain, stiffness, swelling. Treatment: rest, muscle relaxants, pain medication. Signup and view all the answers

What is fibromyalgia?

Fibromyalgia refers to a group of muscle disorders with chronic pain in specific muscle sites. Signup and view all the answers

What are the causes, symptoms, and treatment of fibromyalgia?

Causes: stress, weather, poor fitness. Symptoms: chronic pain in specific muscle sites. Treatment: rest, reducing stress, exercise, massage, medication. Signup and view all the answers

What is muscular dystrophy?

Muscular dystrophy refers to a group of inherited diseases in which the muscles gradually atrophy. Signup and view all the answers

What are the symptoms and treatment of muscular dystrophy?

Symptoms: painless, progressive muscle weakness. Treatment: medication, physical therapy, corrective surgery. Signup and view all the answers

Study Notes

Functions of the Muscular System

Facilitates body movement and supports posture.
Generates heat and energy for bodily functions.
Protects internal organs from injury.
Aids in circulation of blood, food, and waste through the body.
Regulates body openings by contraction and relaxation.

Common Traits of Muscles

Muscles exhibit excitability (irritability), allowing them to respond to stimuli.
Characterized by contractibility, enabling muscle shortening for movement.
Possess extensibility, which allows stretching without damage.
Feature elasticity, enabling them to return to original shape after stretching.
Muscle tone indicates a state of readiness, characterized by slight contraction.

Types of Muscles and Their Functions

Cardiac Muscle:
- Located in the heart; responsible for pumping blood.
- Involuntary and striated with intercalated discs.
Visceral (Smooth) Muscle:
- Found in walls of hollow organs, blood vessels, and eyes.
- Involuntary muscle that facilitates internal organ movement.
Skeletal Muscle:
- Attached to bones and primarily responsible for body movements.
- Mostly under voluntary control; striated in appearance.

Anatomical Structure of Muscle Types

Skeletal Muscle:
- Features alternating light (I band) and dark (A band) stripes.
- Contains Z discs (in light bands) and H zones (in dark bands).
Visceral Muscle:
- Lacks cross stripes; consists of spindle-shaped cells with a single nucleus.
- Contracts slowly and involuntarily, located in internal organs.
Cardiac Muscle:
- Striated like skeletal muscle, but cells are shorter and branched.
- Contains one or more nuclei per cell and tightly interlocks with neighboring cells.

Muscle Atrophy and Contracture

Atrophy:
- A decrease in muscle size and strength due to disuse or illness.
Contracture:
- Severe muscle tightening resulting in permanent joint bending.

Muscle Strain

Defined as tears or overstretching of muscles or tendons.
Common causes include muscle overuse or excessive stretching.
Symptoms include pain, stiffness, and swelling.
Treatment includes rest, muscle relaxants, and pain medication.

Fibromyalgia

A condition characterized by chronic pain in specific muscle sites.
Symptoms may be exacerbated by stress, weather changes, or physical inactivity.
Treatment focuses on rest, stress management, exercise, massage, and medication for muscle relaxation and pain relief.

Muscular Dystrophy

A hereditary group of diseases leading to progressive muscle weakness and atrophy.
Symptoms include painless muscle weakness that worsens over time.
Treatment aims to slow disease progression through medication, physical therapy, and surgery.

Description

Test your knowledge of the Muscular System with these flashcards. Explore its functions, traits, and the concept of muscle tone. Perfect for students looking to reinforce their understanding of human anatomy.