1. The document discusses the contractile mechanism of smooth muscle, comparing it to skeletal muscle. It describes the physical and chemical basis for smooth muscle contraction, focusing on differences from skeletal muscle like arrangement of actin and myosin filaments.
2. Key differences that allow for prolonged tonic contraction include slower cycling of myosin cross-bridges, less energy required, and a "latch mechanism" where contraction can be maintained with little excitation. Calcium ions and calmodulin activate contraction instead of troponin.
3. Relaxation occurs when myosin phosphatase removes phosphate from the myosin light chain, halting the cycling process.
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