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  2. Muscle contraction - Wikipedia

    en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muscle_contraction

    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]

  3. Sliding filament theory - Wikipedia

    en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sliding_filament_theory

    The sliding filament theory explains the mechanism of muscle contraction based on muscle proteins that slide past each other to generate movement. [1] According to the sliding filament theory, the myosin ( thick filaments ) of muscle fibers slide past the actin ( thin filaments ) during muscle contraction, while the two groups of filaments ...

  4. Action potential - Wikipedia

    en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Action_potential

    In muscle cells, for example, an action potential is the first step in the chain of events leading to contraction. In beta cells of the pancreas , they provoke release of insulin . [ a ] Action potentials in neurons are also known as " nerve impulses " or " spikes ", and the temporal sequence of action potentials generated by a neuron is called ...

  5. Neuromuscular junction - Wikipedia

    en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neuromuscular_junction

    Also present is the receptor tyrosine kinase protein MuSK, a signaling protein involved in the development of the neuromuscular junction, which is also held in place by rapsyn. [4] About once every second in a resting junction randomly one of the synaptic vesicles fuses with the presynaptic neuron's cell membrane in a process mediated by SNARE ...

  6. Myogenic mechanism - Wikipedia

    en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Myogenic_mechanism

    Stretch of the muscle membrane opens a stretch-activated ion channel. The cells then become depolarized and this results in a Ca 2+ signal and triggers muscle contraction. No action potential is necessary here; the level of entered calcium affects the level of contraction proportionally and causes tonic contraction.

  7. Cardiac excitation-contraction coupling - Wikipedia

    en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cardiac_excitation...

    Cardiac excitation-contraction coupling (Cardiac EC coupling) describes the series of events, from the production of an electrical impulse (action potential) to the contraction of muscles in the heart. [1] This process is of vital importance as it allows for the heart to beat in a

  8. Stretch reflex - Wikipedia

    en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stretch_reflex

    The stretch reflex (myotatic reflex), or more accurately "muscle stretch reflex", is a muscle contraction in response to stretching a muscle. The function of the reflex is generally thought to be maintaining the muscle at a constant length but the response is often coordinated across multiple muscles and even joints. [1]

  9. Stretch shortening cycle - Wikipedia

    en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stretch_shortening_cycle

    The increased performance benefit associated with muscle contractions that take place during SSCs has been the focus of much research in order to determine the true nature of this enhancement. At present, there is some debate as to where and how this performance enhancement takes place.