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Smooth muscle is grouped into two types: single-unit smooth muscle, also known as visceral smooth muscle, and multiunit smooth muscle. Most smooth muscle is of the single-unit type, and is found in the walls of most internal organs (viscera); and lines blood vessels (except large elastic arteries), the urinary tract , and the digestive tract .
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]
Smooth muscle contraction is regulated by the autonomic nervous system, hormones, and local chemical signals, allowing for gradual and sustained contractions. This type of muscle tissue is also capable of adapting to different levels of stretch and tension, which is important for maintaining proper blood flow and the movement of materials ...
15 Best Foods to Settle an Upset Stomach Moyo Studio - Getty Images ... Calcium is essential for smooth muscle contraction which moves food through your digestive tract, potassium regulates fluid ...
The contractions occur directly behind the bolus of food that is in the system, forcing it toward the anus into the next relaxed section of smooth muscle. This relaxed section then contracts, generating smooth forward movement of the bolus at between 2–25 cm per second.
Vascular smooth muscle cells also play important roles during development, e.g. driving osteocyte differentiation from undifferentiated precursors during osteogenesis. [1] Arteries have a great deal more smooth muscle within their walls than veins, thus their greater wall thickness. This is because they have to carry pumped blood away from the ...
Sliding filament model of muscle contraction. Cardiac sarcomere structure featuring myosin. Myosin II (also known as conventional myosin) is the myosin type responsible for producing muscle contraction in muscle cells in most animal cell types. It is also found in non-muscle cells in contractile bundles called stress fibers. [18]
Muscle contraction is stimulated by the motor neuron sending a message to the muscles from the somatic nervous system. Depolarization of the motor neuron results in neurotransmitters being released from the nerve terminal. The space between the nerve terminal and the muscle cell is called the neuromuscular junction.