Chapter 8. Muscle Tissue
8.0 Introduction
Chapter Objectives
After studying this chapter, you will be able to:
- describe structural and functional differences between skeletal, cardiac, and smooth muscle tissue;
- diagram and describe the structure of skeletal muscle fibers;
- explain the process of muscle contraction and relaxation;
- explain how the nervous system is able to regulate force generation in skeletal muscle; and
- compare and contrast the three major types of skeletal muscle fibers, relating their physiological characteristics to exercise and muscle performance.
When most people think of muscles, they think of the muscles that are visible just under the skin, particularly of the limbs. These are skeletal muscles, so named because most of them move the skeleton. But there are two other types of muscle in the body with distinctly different jobs. Cardiac muscle, found in the heart, is concerned with pumping blood through the circulatory system. Smooth muscle is concerned with various involuntary movements, such as having one’s hair stand on end when cold or frightened or moving food through the digestive system. This chapter will examine the structure and function of these three types of muscles with a particular emphasis on skeletal muscle.
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