Muscle
hideMuscle (from Latin musculus, diminutive of mus "mouse") is the contractile tissue of the body and is derived from the mesodermal layer of embryonic germ cells. Muscle cells contain contractile filaments that move past each other and change the size of the cell. They are classified as skeletal, cardiac, or smooth muscles. Their function is to produce force and cause motion. Muscles can cause either locomotion of the organism itself or movement of internal organs. Cardiac and smooth muscle contraction occurs without conscious thought and is necessary for survival. Examples are the contraction of the heart and peristalsis which pushes food through the digestive system. Voluntary contraction of the skeletal muscles is used to move the body and can be finely controlled. Examples are movements of the eye, or gross movements like the quadriceps muscle of the thigh. There are two broad types of voluntary muscle fibers: slow twitch and fast twitch. Slow twitch fibers contract for long periods of time but with little force while fast twitch fibers contract quickly and powerfully but fatigue very rapidly.
For more information about Muscle, read the full article at
Wikipedia.
This text uses material from Wikipedia and is available under the GNU Free Documentation License.
News tagged with muscle cells
Heart cells on lab chip display 'nanosense' that guides behavior
Nanotechnology / Bio & Medicine
Dec 15, 2009 |
4 / 5 (2) |
1
Johns Hopkins biomedical engineers, working with colleagues in Korea, have produced a laboratory chip with nanoscopic grooves and ridges capable of growing cardiac tissue that more closely resembles natural ...
From fruit fly wings to heart failure -- why Not(ch)?
Dec 10, 2009 |
not rated yet |
0
Almost a century after it was discovered in fruit flies with notches in their wings, the Notch signalling pathway may come to play an important role in the recovery from heart attacks. In a study published ...
Search results for muscle cells
Umbilical cord could be new source of plentiful stem cells, researchers say
2 hours ago |
not rated yet |
0
Stem cells that could one day provide therapeutic options for muscle and bone disorders can be easily harvested from the tissue of the umbilical cord, just as the blood that goes through it provides precursor cells to treat ...
Study explores 'garbage disposal' role of VCP and implications for degenerative disease
Dec 14, 2009 |
not rated yet |
0
It's important to finish what you start, say Jeong-Sun Ju and researchers from Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis. In the December 14, 2009 issue of the Journal of Cell Biology, Ju et al. ...
Tiny molecule slows progression of Lou Gehrig's disease in mice
Dec 10, 2009 |
not rated yet |
0
Researchers at UT Southwestern Medical Center have found that a molecule produced naturally by muscles in response to nerve damage can reduce symptoms and prolong life in a mouse model of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). ...
Killer catfish? Venomous species surprisingly common, study finds
Dec 10, 2009 |
not rated yet |
2
(PhysOrg.com) -- Name all the venomous animals you can think of and you probably come up with snakes, spiders, bees, wasps and perhaps poisonous frogs. But catfish?
Muscling in on a mystery protein: Study of brawny pigs reveals key player in the genome
Dec 15, 2009 |
5 / 5 (1) |
0
(PhysOrg.com) -- For thousands of years, humans have bred pigs for desirable traits, such as more muscle and less fat in the meat. Domestication makes animals ideal models for studying how genes control physical ...
Extended youthfulness as a prevention for Alzheimer's disease
Dec 10, 2009 |
4 / 5 (1) |
0
Therapies that can keep us younger longer might also push back the clock on Alzheimer's disease, suggests a new study of mice in the December 11th issue of the journal Cell, a Cell Press publication.
List of search results for muscle cells
