Muscles Outline

Muscles: Contraction of a muscle

contraction and body movement - Motor unit
- Twitch vs. graded contractions
Blood: - Muscle Tone
overview and erythrocytes - Isometric and isotonic contractions
Body Movement
11/4/09

Contraction of a muscle Twitch

• Motor unit: a motor neuron and all the
muscle fibers it innervates • Twitch: response to single AP,
smallest unit of movement
1 motor : 4 muscle • “All or none”: Neuron fires AP or not.
neuron fibers
Muscle fibers contract or not.

1 motor: 1000 muscle

neuron fibers
Figure 9.13a

1
 Twitch Graded muscle contractions
Myogram: a graphic recording of muscle Production by
contractions
1. Increase stimulation frequency
Tension: amount of
Temporal
force a muscle summation

tension
exerts on an object
3 phases:
time
1. latent period
2. contraction Single stimulus Low frequency High frequency
3. relaxation Twitch Unfused Fused
(incomplete) (complete)
Twitch myogram
Figure 9.14a tetanus tetanus
Figure 9.15

Graded muscle contractions Muscle Tone

Production by • Slight constant contraction of muscles
• Keeps muscles healthy and ready to respond
2. Increase stimulus strength
• Stabilizes joints and maintains posture
- Recruitment - more neurons
- Size principle
Changes in tone
• Muscle atrophy: wasting away of muscles
• Muscle hypertrophy: increasing muscle size

2
 Isotonic and Isometric Contractions
1. Isotonic
– “Same tension”
– Muscle changes length
– Tension > load (weight)
– Concentric: shorten
– Eccentric: lengthen
concentric
Abnormal muscle contractions
2. Isometric
– “Same measure” • Myopathy: any disease of the muscle
– Muscle does not • Spasm: involuntary contraction of muscle
change length – Cramp: prolonged spasm
– Tension < load
• Fibrillation: spontaneous contraction of
single muscle fiber, motor neuron disorder

eccentric

Body Movement Body Movement

• Lever system for skeletal-muscle operation
• Group of muscles
– Lever: rigid bar on a fulcrum (Bones)
– Agonist (prime mover): responsible for movement
– Fulcrum: fixed point for lever (Joints)
– Antagonist: opposes movement
– Effort: applied force to move load (Muscles)
– Synergist: helps agonists
– Load: weight you want to move (Bones)
Ie. Flex arm
Antagonist: Agonist: Biceps Brachii
Triceps Brachii
Synergyst:
Brachialis,
Brachioradialis

3
 Summary
Quiz
• A muscle contraction is controlled by
motor units.
• Contractions are
– twitches or graded
– slightly constant (tone)
– isometric or isotonic
• Body movements result from the activity
of groups of muscles and lever systems.

Blood Outline Characteristics of whole blood

- Characteristics and function
• Temperature: 38°C (100.4°F)
- Components
• Viscosity: 5x more than water
- Erythrocytes
- Structure and function • pH: 7.35-7.45
- Erythropoiesis and destruction • Color
- Disorders • 8% body weight (men 5-6 L, women 4-5 L)

4
 Functions Components of blood

• Distribution: oxygen/nutrients, waste, hormones

• Regulation: temperature, pH, volume • Plasma (55%)
• Protection: blood loss, infection • Formed elements
– Buffy coat (<1%)
– Erythrocytes (45%)

Fig 17.1

Plasma Plasma

Blood Plasma Buffy coat

Formed
Erythrocytes elements
Formed elements Buffy coat
Formed
Erythrocytes elements

• Water (90%) • Buffy coat: leukocytes, platelets

• Plasma proteins (8%) • Erythrocytes (hematocrit)
– Albumin: shuttle molecules, osmotic pressure • Originate in bone marrow
– Fibrogen: clots
– Globulins:
• Other (2%)
– nutrients, electrolytes, gases, hormones

5
 Erythrocytes Erythrocytes
(Red blood cells – RBC)
Function: transport respiratory gases
Structure oxygen (O2) and carbon dioxide (CO2)
• Small, biconcave shape disc RBC

• Anucleate 1 RBC contains ~250 million Hemoglobin (Hb)

• Hemoglobin (97%) Hb = globin + heme

Lungs: heme contains Fe (iron) which globins

binds O2 heme
RBCs
Hemoglobin
Tissue: heme releases Fe  releases O2
molecule
Fig 17.3 globin picks up CO2
Fig 17.2
Fig 17.4a

Erythrocytes Erythrocytes:
Regulation of erythropoiesis
Erythropoiesis: production of erythrocytes
• hematopoesis: blood cell formation • Hormones: erythropoietin (EPO)
• red bone marrow – Stimulates RBC formation
O2
• 1 oz with 100 billion new blood cells per day – If low O2 in kidney blood  O2
• Hemocytoblast  proerythroblast  reticulocytes EPO  RBC  O2 EPO
RBC
 erythrocyte
Fig 17.6
• Diet
- Iron for hemoglobin, amino acids, lipids,
carbohydrates, vitamin B, folic acid

Fig 17.5

6
 Erythrocytes:
Destruction
Life span: 100-120 days
• Macrophages: engulf RBC (spleen)
• Bilirubin: degrades heme (liver)
• Transferrin: binds iron and transfers to RBCs
Erythrocytes:
Disorders
Anemia: “lacking blood”, blood has abnormally
low oxygen-carrying capacity
symptoms: fatigue, pale, shortness of breath, chilly
1. Insufficient number of RBCs
- Hemorrhagic anemias: blood loss
- Hemolytic anemias: RBCs rupture prematurely
- Aplastic: destruction of bone marrow

Erythrocytes: Erythrocytes:
Disorders Disorders
Anemia: “lacking blood”, blood has abnormally Anemia: “lacking blood”, blood has abnormally
low oxygen-carrying capacity low oxygen-carrying capacity

2. Low hemoglobin content

3. Abnormal hemoglobin
– iron deficiency anemia: inadequate consumption
- sickle cell anemia:
or absorption of iron
defective genes coding for Hb
– pernicious anemia: deficiency in vitamin B12, Hb becomes sickle cell shape (HbS)
lacking intrinsic factor

7
 Erythrocytes:
Disorders
Polycythemia: excess of erythrocytes
- blood viscosity (thickness) increases
- blood circulation impaired
Next time
Leukocytes and platelets
Summary of blood
• Blood consists of plasma and formed
elements, which includes RBCs.
• The structure of erythrocytes allows it to
function as a O2 and CO2 transporter.
• The formation and destruction of
erythrocytes is regulated.
• Erythrocyte disorders include anemias
and polycythemias.