Muscle

Muscle is a contractile form of tissue. It is one of the four major tissue types, the other three being epithelium, connective tissue and nervous tissue. Muscle contraction is used to move parts of the body, as well as to move substances within the body.

Physiology

The three types of muscle have significant differences, but all use the movement of actin against myosin to produce contraction and relaxation. In skeletal muscle, contraction is stimulated by electrical impulses transmitted by the nerves, the motor nerves and motoneurons in particular. All skeletal muscle and many smooth muscle contractions are facilitated by the neurotransmitter acetylcholine.

Related Topics:
Actin - Myosin - Electrical impulses - Nerve - Motoneuron - Neurotransmitter - Acetylcholine

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Muscles and muscular activity account for most of the body's energy consumption. Muscles store energy for their own use in the form of glycogen, which represents about 1% of their mass. This can be rapidly converted to glucose when more energy is necessary.

Related Topics:
Energy - Glycogen - Glucose

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