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The muscle fibers belonging to one motor unit can be spread throughout part, or most of the entire muscle, depending on the number of fibers and size of the muscle. [ 2 ] [ 3 ] When a motor neuron is activated, all of the muscle fibers innervated by the motor neuron are stimulated and contract.
The number of muscle fibers within each unit can vary within a particular muscle and even more from muscle to muscle: the muscles that act on the largest body masses have motor units that contain more muscle fibers, whereas smaller muscles contain fewer muscle fibers in each motor unit. [1] For instance, thigh muscles can have a thousand fibers ...
An impulse from a nerve cell causes calcium release and brings about a single, short muscle contraction called a muscle twitch. If there is a problem at the neuromuscular junction, a very prolonged contraction may occur, such as the muscle contractions that result from tetanus. Also, a loss of function at the junction can produce paralysis. [5]
Calmodulin is a small, highly conserved protein that is 148 amino acids long (16.7 kDa). The protein has two approximately symmetrical globular domains (the N- and C- domains) each containing a pair of EF hand motifs [5] separated by a flexible linker region for a total of four Ca 2+ binding sites, two in each globular domain. [6]
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]
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]
Gap junction proteins include the more than 26 types of connexin, and at least 12 non-connexin components that make up the gap junction complex or nexus. [4] These components include the tight junction protein ZO-1—a protein that holds membrane content together and adds structural clarity to a cell, [5] sodium channels, [6] and aquaporin. [7] [8]
An induction shock produces a contraction or fails to do so according to its strength; if it does so at all, it produces the greatest contraction that can be produced by any strength of stimulus in the condition of the muscle at the time. This principle was later found to be present in skeletal muscle by Keith Lucas in 1909. [1]