The Muscular System

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 The Muscular System
• Muscle comprises the largest group of tissues in the body,
accounting for approximately half of the body’s weight.
• Skeletal muscle about 40% BW in men & 32% in women
• Muscle is classified into 3 categories according to
morphology & physiological function:
– Skeletal muscle
– Smooth muscle
– Cardiac muscle

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 Connective tissues associated with skeletal
muscles
• Tendon
–is a toughened dense regular CT that connects a muscle to
the perisoteum of a bone.
–It functions to transfer the force of contraction from the
muscles to the bone to be moved.
• Aponeurosis
–is a flat, sheet like tendon
–occurs where the attachment is over a broad line.

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 Fascias
• Fascias (L. fasciae)
– constitute the wrapping, packing, & insulating materials of
the deep structures of the body.
 superficial fascia = subcutaneous tissue
 deep fascia:
– is a dense, organized CT layer, devoid of fat,
– covers most of the body deep to the skin & subcutaneous
tissue.

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 Deep fascia …
• Extensions from its internal surface invest (cover) deeper
structures, such as individual muscles & neurovascular
bundles, as investing fascia.
– varies in thickness widely.
– absent in the face & ischioanal fossa
• In the limbs, groups of muscles with similar functions sharing
the same nerve supply are located in fascial compartments,
separated by thick sheets of deep fascia, called
intermuscular septa, that extend centrally from the
surrounding fascial sleeve to attach to the bones.

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 Deep fascia …
• The deep fascia, along with
contracting muscles, &
venous valves work
together as a musculovenous
pump to return blood to the
heart, esp. in the LL where
blood must move against
the pull of gravity
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 Connective tissues associated with skeletal
muscles…
• Subserous fascia
– lies b/n the internal surfaces of the musculoskeletal
walls & the serous membranes lining the body cavities.
– contains varying amounts of fatty tissue
• include the endothoracic, endoabdominal, &
endopelvic fascias; the latter two may be referred
to collectively as extraperitoneal fascia.

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 Connective tissues associated with skeletal
muscles…
• Retinaculum - is a thin strong band of CT, formed by
thickening of the deep fascia, that prevents the springing of
tendons especially in the wrist & ankle.
• Endomysium – a fine sheath of CT surrounding the
individual fibers
• Perimysium - binds groups of fibers together into bundles
called fasiculi.
• Epimysium - covers the entire muscle & is continuous with
tendon.

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 Naming of Skeletal Muscles
• Skeletal muscles are named on the basis of shape, location,
attachment, orientation of fibers, relative position, or
function.
• Shape:
– rhomboideus (like a rhomboid),
– trapezius (like a trapezoid) or
– denoting the number of heads of origin triceps (three
heads), biceps (two heads).
• Location:
– pectoralis (in the chest, or pectus),
– intercostal (b/n ribs),
– brachium (upper arm).
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 Naming of Skeletal Muscles…

• Attachment:
– many facial muscles (zygomaticus, temporialis, nasalis,
sternocleidomastoid (sternum, clavicle, & mastoid process
of the skull)
• Size: maximus (large), minimus (smaller), longus (long),
brevis (short)
• Orientation of fibers: rectus (straight), transverses (across),
oblique….
• Relative position: lateral, medial, internal, & external.
• Function: adductor, flexor, extensor, pronator, & levator
(lifter)

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 Muscle shapes
• Flat muscles have parallel fibers often with an
aponeurosis, for e.g., external oblique.
• Pennate muscles
– are feather-like (L. pennatus, feather) in the arrangement
of their fascicles, &
– may be unipennate, bipennate, or multi-pennate,
– for e.g., extensor digitorum longus (unipennate), bellies of
the gastrocnemius (bipennate), & deltoid (multi-pennate).
• Fusiform muscles are spindle shaped with a round, thick
belly (or bellies) & tapered ends, for
– e.g., biceps brachii.
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 Muscle shapes…
• Quadrate muscles have four equal sides (L. quadratus,
square), for e.g., pronator quadratus.
• Circular or sphincteral muscles surround a body opening or
orifice, constricting it when contracted, for
– e.g., orbicularis oris
• Multi-headed or multi-bellied muscles
– have more than one head of attachment or more than one
contractile belly, respectively,
– e. g., biceps brachii (two heads of attachment), triceps - three
heads; the digastric & gastrocnemius muscles have two bellies

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 Skeletal Muscle Attachments
• There are two attachment site
• Origin- the stationary end of the muscle attachment
• Insertion- the relatively moveable end of the skeletal muscle
attachment
• Belly(gaster)- the thick & flesh region between two
attachments (origin & insertion)

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 Skeletal Muscle Attachments…
• Muscle attachments may be
direct or indirect.
• Direct – the epemycium part
directly attached to the bone
or other soft tissues without a
tendon
• Skeletal muscle doesn’t attach
directly to the bone
• Indirect
– either a cordlike structure=
tendon or
– abroad sheet like structure=
aponeurosis
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Skeletal Muscle Attachments…

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 Coordinated action of muscle groups
• Agonist ( prime mover)
– muscles which perform great action or a muscle that
causes a desired action
• Antagonistic muscles
– Muscles that perform opposite actions
• E.g. When you bend(flex) your elbow, the biceps brachii is
prime mover while the triceps brachii is antagonist
• Synergistic Muscles
– are muscles that perform similar actions

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 Intrinsic & extrinsic muscles

• Intrinsic muscles -has both insertion and origin within the

same region
– e.g. Intrinsic muscle of tongue which alter the shape of the tongue
rather moving the entire tongue
• Extrinsic muscles -muscles which has origin from other body
regions
– E.g, extrinsic tongue muscle of the tongue
• Genioglossus
• Styloglossus
• Palatoglossus
• hypoglossus

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 Nerves and Arteries to Muscles

• Nerves
– In the limb, muscles of similar actions are generally
contained within a common fascial compartment and
share innervation by the same nerves;
– Nerves supplying skeletal muscles (motor nerves) usually
enter the fleshy portion of the muscle
– When a nerve pierces a muscle, by passing through its
fleshy portion or between two heads of attachment, it
usually supplies that muscle.
– Exceptions are the cutaneous branches of posterior
(dorsal) rami and the superficial muscles of the back.
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 Nerves and Arteries to Muscles…

• The blood supply of muscles

– Is not as constant as the nerve supply and is usually
multiple.
– Arteries generally supply the structures they contact.
– Thus you should learn the course of the arteries and
deduce that a muscle is supplied by all the arteries in its
vicinity.

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