MUSCULAR SYSTEM

MUSCULAR SYSTEM:-

• Muscle is a specialised tissue of mesodermal origin that has special properties like excitability, contractility,extensibility and elasticity. 

Based on their location, three types of muscles are identified.

Types of muscle:-

Skeletal muscles:-

These are closely associated with the

skeletal components of the body. They have a striped appearance under the microscope and hence are called striated muscles. As their activities are under the voluntary control of the nervous system, they are known as voluntary muscles too. They are primarily involved in locomotory actions and changes of body postures.

Visceral muscles:-

These are located in the inner walls of hollow visceral organs of the body like the alimentary canal, reproductive tract, etc. They do not exhibit any striation and are smooth in appearance.

Hence, they are called smooth muscles. They are not under the voluntary control of nervous system,hence are also called involuntary muscles. They assist, for example, in the transportation of food through the digestive tract and gametes through the genital tract.

Cardiac muscles:-

These are the muscles of heart.Many cardiac muscle cells assemble in a branching pattern to form a cardiac muscle. Based on appearance, cardiac muscles are striated. They are involuntary in nature as the nervous system does not control their activities directly.