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Depiction of smooth muscle contraction. Muscle contraction is the activation of tension-generating sites within muscle cells. [1] [2] In physiology, muscle contraction does not necessarily mean muscle shortening because muscle tension can be produced without changes in muscle length, such as when holding something heavy in the same position. [1]
The reflex arc is a negative feedback mechanism preventing too much tension on the muscle and tendon. When the tension is extreme, the inhibition can be so great it overcomes the excitatory effects on the muscle's alpha motoneurons causing the muscle to suddenly relax. [1]
The action of myosin along the actin filaments causes the shortening and lengthening of the sarcomere; responsible for muscle contraction and relaxation, respectively. Motor proteins are the driving force behind most active transport of proteins and vesicles in the cytoplasm.
To test the reflex, the muscle should be in a neutral position. The muscle being tested needs to be flexed for the clinician to locate the tendon. After the muscle is relaxed, the clinician strikes the tendon. The response should be contraction of the muscle. If this is the knee jerk reflex, the clinician should observe a kick.
In physiology, medicine, and anatomy, muscle tone (residual muscle tension or tonus) is the continuous and passive partial contraction of the muscles, or the muscle's resistance to passive stretch during resting state. [1] [2] It helps to maintain posture and declines during REM sleep. [3]
Muscle fatigue is when muscles that were initially generating a normal amount of force, then experience a declining ability to generate force.It can be a result of vigorous exercise, but abnormal fatigue may be caused by barriers to or interference with the different stages of muscle contraction.
When necessary, the maximal number of motor units in a muscle can be recruited simultaneously, producing the maximum force of contraction for that muscle, but this cannot last for very long because of the energy requirements to sustain the contraction. To prevent complete muscle fatigue, motor units are generally not all simultaneously active ...
It also initiates muscle contraction in skeletal and cardiac muscles and muscle relaxation in smooth muscles. Ca 2+ sparks are important in physiology as they show how Ca 2+ can be used at a subcellular level, to signal both local changes, known as local control, [3] as well as whole cell changes.