Muscular System

Muscular system

The muscular system is the set of all the muscles that make up the human body. It is an extensive system of muscles and nervous tissue, which is distributed all through the body. In total, the human body consists of approximately 650 muscles. The muscular system is divided into three types of muscle: cardiac muscle, smooth muscle, and skeletal muscle. The first basic function of the muscular system is movement, which is carried out by the skeletal muscles. The primary function of the skeletal muscle is to produce voluntary gross and fine motor movement. This set of voluntary muscles provides the forces that enable the body to move. A skeletal muscle links two bones across its connecting joint. When these muscles contract or shorten, the bone moves. Examples of gross motor movements are running, lifting weights, or playing sports. An example of fine motor movements or smaller movements would be blinking, talking or chewing. The skeletal muscles will also contract as a reflex to stimuli, like when the hand moves away from a hot cup of coffee. Another basic function is to protect internal organs, which is also executed by the skeletal muscles. The abdominal cavity is not protected by bones, like the heart and lungs are protected by the rib cage. Therefore, the abdominal muscles and muscles in the lower back help protect the vital organs. For example the “six pack” muscle protects the body from the front.
The third function of the muscular system is pumping blood. The cardiac muscles in our body control the pumping of blood throughout arteries and veins. The contraction of the heart muscle is involuntary and is controlled by the hearts own electrical system. The right side of the heart receives blood from the body and pumps it to the lungs. The left side of the heart receives blood from the lungs and pumps it out to the body.   The muscular system also plays an important role in our daily life and taking care of it is crucial. A healthy diet is...