Skeletal and Muscular System Relationship Essay Example for Free

Skeletal and Muscular System Relationship Essay Pinak Patel Anatomy and Physiology Professor Jargen December 14, 2011 Skeletal System and Muscular System In anatomy and physiology we study the structure of living things and the function of living systems. In physiology, the scientific method is applied to determine how different organisms, organ systems, organs, cells, and biomolecules carry out the chemical or physical function that they have in the living system. Both anatomy and physiology are subcategories of biology. Throughout our class we have discussed many different systems of the body. One system that is very important to the human body is the muscular system, which consists of three different types of muscle tissue. Along with the muscular system is the skeletal system, which consists of the bones and the different types of tissue it contains. Both of these systems have many different functions, and can be interconnected together. These two systems work together and they form the musculoskeletal system. The muscular system consists of three different types of muscle tissue and it has four different functions. The muscular system also encompasses many properties. The three different types of muscle tissues it includes are skeletal muscle, cardiac muscle, and smooth muscle. The skeletal muscle’s main function is to move the bones of the skeleton. This muscle is voluntary and is also striated, meaning that it is striped, which is due to the muscle fibers that are combined into parallel fibers. Some of these muscles can be controlled unknowningly. For example, the diaphragm of the human body continues to alternately contract and relax while we are asleep, allowing our lungs to expand to breathe. The cardiac muscle tissue is found only in the heart. It is similar to the skeletal muscle in that it is striated, but it is also different in that it is involuntary. The smooth muscle tissue can be found within the walls of the digestive tract, blood vessels, and airways of the respiratory system. This tissue is nonstriated, which means that it is not striped and the fibers are not arranged into parallel orderly bands like the skeletal and cardiac muscle. The smooth muscle tissue is also involuntary. The muscular system has four key functions. It produces body movements, and stabilizes the body positions, for example, it holds contraction of the neck uscles that hold one’s head upright. Another function of the muscle tissue is that it is the storange and transportation of substances within the body: skeletal muscle contractions move lymph throughout the body, and help return blood to the heart. The final function of the muscle tissue is that it helps to maintain one’s posture. Each skeletal tissue is made of hundreds of t housands of cells called muscle fibers. The fascia is a component of connective tissue and it is a broad sheet of fibrous connective tissue that surrounds and supports muscles and other organs. The external part is the deep fascia that consists of theee layers of connective tissue. The epimysium is the outermost later that encircles the entire muscle. The perimysium surrounds groups of ten to hundereds or more individual muscle fibers, seperating those into bundles called fasicles. Then there is the endomysium, which seperates each individual muscle fiber. The nerve and blood supply of the muscle tissue consists of arteries, veins, and nerves that run together. There are somatic motor neurons that stimulate the muscles to contract. These neurons begin in the brain or spinal cord and extend by an axon to a group of skeletal muscle fibers. All in all, the skeletal muscle tissue contains many vital things, in order for everything to work properly. The skeletal system has many functions as well, just like the muscular system. The skeletal system has six different functions: support, protection, assistance in movement, mineral homeostasis, blood cell production, and triglyceride storage. Unlike the muscular system, posture is not a function of the skeletal system. There are also four types of cells that are present in bone tissue. The first type of cells is the osteogenic cells, which are unspecialized stem cells that are the only bone cells that divide. Another type of cells is the osteoblasts, which are the bone building cells; known as the immature bone cells. Then, there are the osteocytes, which are the mature bone cells and are the main cells in the bone. They exchange nutrients and wastes with the blood, which help maintain the bone’s normal metabolism. Finally, the osteoclasts, which are the cells that release powerful lysosomal enzymes and acids that break down the matrix (resorption). The bone tissue also has nerve and blood supply that also consists of arteries and veins. Although one can claim that there can’t be much inter-relation with the skeletal and muscular system, there are some relations to be made. First of all, vertebrates move by the actions of muscles on bones. Therefore, tendons attach many skeletal muscles across joints, allowing muscle contration to move the bones across the joint. Muscles generally work in pairs to produce movement: when one muscle flexes or contracts, the other relaxes. Next, the skeleton and muscles function together as the musculoskeletal system. This system is often treated as two separate systems, the muscular, and skeletal plays an important homeostatic role: allowing humans to move to more favorable conditions. Certain cells in the bones produce immune cells as well as important cellular components of the blood. Therefore, bone also helps to regulate blood calcium levels, serving as a calcium sink. Finally, the rapid muscular contraction is important in generating internal heat, which is another important function that can relate to bone tissue as well. There are many important systems that we study in anatomy and physiology. The skeletal system and muscular system are just two of them. Both of these systems have many functions that can be studied in depth. Although there are quite a few systems that aren’t very comparable, these two systems make an exception. In conclusion, both of these systems, bones and muscles, work together in many ways and can be inter-related to a certain degree.