KNOW YOUR MUSCLE

There are three different types of muscle in the body. The cell composition of all muscle enables it to convert energy from chemical reactions into mechanical energy, which facilitates its major function of contraction. This contraction produces movement or force.

The three types of muscle in the body are:

1. Skeletal: voluntary muscle attached to bone and stimulated by nerves

2. Cardiac: involuntary muscle in wall of heart

3. Smooth: involuntary muscle in walls of digestive tract, lungs, and blood vessels

The metabolism that occurs in the large mass of muscular tissue in the body produces the heat that is essential to the maintenance of the body.

All the types of muscle have certain characteristics that enable them to perform their specialised role in the body:

1. Contractibility: capacity to contract & shorten forcefully

2. Excitability: response to stimulation by nerves & hormones

3. Extensibility: ability to stretch

4. Elasticity: ability to recoil after stretching