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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]
during contraction, actin filaments move into the A bands and the H zone is filled up reducing its stretch, the I bands shorten, the Z line comes in contact with the A bands; and; the possible driving force of contraction is the actin-myosin linkages which depend on ATP hydrolysis by the myosin.
It consists of two periods: one during which the heart muscle relaxes and refills with blood, called diastole, following a period of robust contraction and pumping of blood, called systole. [1] After emptying, the heart relaxes and expands to receive another influx of blood returning from the lungs and other systems of the body, before again ...
Electrical waves track a systole (a contraction) of the heart. The end-point of the P wave depolarization is the start-point of the atrial stage of systole. The ventricular stage of systole begins at the R peak of the QRS wave complex; the T wave indicates the end of ventricular contraction, after which ventricular relaxation (ventricular diastole) begins.
The higher the recruitment the stronger the muscle contraction will be. Motor units are generally recruited in order of smallest to largest (smallest motor neurons to largest motor neurons, and thus slow to fast twitch) as contraction increases. This is known as Henneman's size principle. [4]
Wiggers diagram of the cardiac cycle, with isometric contraction marked at upper left. In cardiac physiology, isometric contraction is an event occurring in early systole during which the ventricles contract with no corresponding volume change (isometrically). This short-lasting portion of the cardiac cycle takes place while all heart valves ...
During an action potential, the depolarization is so large that the potential difference across the cell membrane briefly reverses polarity, with the inside of the cell becoming positively charged. The change in charge typically occurs due to an influx of sodium ions into a cell, although it can be mediated by an influx of any kind of cation or ...
Vasoconstriction is the narrowing of the blood vessels resulting from contraction of the muscular wall of the vessels, in particular the large arteries and small arterioles. The process is the opposite of vasodilation, the widening of blood vessels. The process is particularly important in controlling hemorrhage and reducing acute blood loss.