Chapter 15: Axial Muscles

-Survival depends on the ability to maintain a relatively constant internal environment.

-Skeletal and muscular systems acting together produce most of the body movements.
-Muscular System: Large mass of skeletal muscles that moves the framework of the
body.
-Movement is one of the most distinctive and easily observed “characteristics of life”.
-We walk, talk, run, breathe—Willed activity—contraction of skeletal muscle.
-More than 600 skeletal muscles in the body
-40-50% of body weight.
-Determine form and contours of our body along with the skeleton.
-Contraction of individual muscle cells is ultimately responsible for purposeful
movement.
-Skeletal Muscle Structure
-Connective Tissue components
-Skeletal muscle cells or muscle fibers are covered by delicate connective tissue
membrane called endomysium.
-Groups of skeletal muscle fibers are called fasciles. They are bound together by
tougher connective tissue envelope called perimysium.
-Muscle as a whole is covered by a coarse sheath call epimysium.
-All three of these fibrous membranes are continuous with fibrous structures that
attach muscles to bones or other structures, muscles are firmly harnessed to the
structures they pull on during a contraction.
-Epimysium, perimysium, endomysium may be continuous with fibrous tissue
that extends from the muscle as a tendon
-Tendon is a strong cord continuous at its other end with the fibrous
periosteum covering a bone.
-Fibrous wrapping of a muscle may extend as a broad, flat sheet of
connective tissue called aponeurosis, which usually emerges with the
fibrous wrappings of another muscle.
-Both are so tough and strong they are not often torn, even by injuries that
could break bones or tear muscles.
-They can be pulled away from the bones however.
 -Fibrous connective tissue surrounding the muscle organ and located outside the
epimysium and tendon is called fascia.
-Fascia: General term for the fibrous connective tissue found under the
skin and surrounding many deeper organs, including skeletal muscles and
bones.
-It is just under the skin (hypodermis), sometimes called superficial
fascia
-Fascia around muscles and bones sometimes called deep fascia.
-Sheets of fibrous connective tissue form double-walled tubes called tendon
sheaths that enclose certain tendons, notably those of the wrists and ankles.

-Like bursae, walls of tendon sheaths have a lining of synovial membrane.

-Moist, smooth surfaces that face each other within the double wall of a
tendon sheath enable the tendon to move easily, almost without friction.
-Size, shape, and fiber arrangement
-Structures called skeletal muscles are organs.
-Consist mainly of skeletal muscle tissue plus important connective and
nervous tissue components.
-Vary in size, shape, arrangement of fibers.
-Range from extremely small strands (stapedius muscle of middle ear), to
large masses, such as muscles of the thigh.
-Some are long and tapering, some short and blunt.
-Some triangular, quadrilateral, some irregular.
-Some flat sheets, others form bulky masses.
-The strength and movement produced by shortening the muscle are related to
fibers and overall shape, attachments to bone and involvement of joints. There are
six muscle shapes:
1. Parallel muscles: Vary in length, long straplike muscles with parallel
fascicles are most typical.
-Sartorius muscle of the leg is a good example.
-Rectus abdominus: run length of anterior abdominal wall
2. Convergent: Fascicles that radiate out from a small to wider point of
attachment, like the blades of a fan.
 -Pectoralis muscle
3. Pennate: Featherlike appearance
a. unipennate: soleus, anchor only one side of the connective tissue
shaft.
b. Bipennate: rectus femoris in the thigh, double-feathered
attachment
c. Multipennate: deltoid, numerous interconnecting quill-like
fascicles converge on a common point of attachment.
4. Fusiform: Fascicles may be close to parallel in the center but converge
at a tendon on one or both ends.
-Brachioradialis
5. Spiral: Lattissimus dorsi: Fibers that twist between their points of
attachment.
6. Circular: orbicular muscles and sphincters. Circle body tubes or
openings.
-Orbicularis oris around the mouth
-External anal sphincter around the anus
-Attachment of muscles
-Most of our muscles span at least one joint and attach to both articulating
bones.
-When contraction occurs, one bone usually remains fixed and the other
moves.
-Points of attachment are called origin and insertion.
-Origin: Point of attachment that does not move when the muscle
contracts.
-Origin bone more stationary of the two bones at a joint when
contraction occurs.
-Insertion: Point of attachment that moves when muscle contracts.
-Insertion of bone moves along a “line of force” toward the origin
bone when the muscle shortens.
-One stays and one will move so that it can be stabilized.
-Muscle actions
 -Skeletal muscles almost always act in groups rather than singly.
-Most movements are produced by coordinated action of several
muscles.
-Some contract while others relax
-Any muscle that performs an action is a “mover”.
a. Prime mover: Muscle that performs a specific movement.
-Brachialis—prime mover when flexing the elbow.
b. Agonist: Applied to the prime mover, then contributes to
to the same action
c. Antagonist: Directly oppose prime movers (or agonists).
Relaxed while prime is contracted to produce movement.
-Simultaneous contraction of a prime mover and its
antagonist muscle results in rigidity and lack of
motion.
-Important in providing precision and control during
contraction of prime movers.
d. Synergists: Muscles that contract at the same time as the
prime mover.
-Facilitate or complement prime mover actions so
that prime mover produces more effective
movement.
e. Fixator: Generally function as joint stabilizers.
Frequently serve to maintain posture or balance during
contraction of prime movers acting on joints in the arms
and legs.
-Lever systems
-When a muscle shortens, the central body portion, called the
belly, contracts.
-Type and extent of movement are determined by load or
resistance that is moved, attachment to tendinous extremities of
muscle to bone, and particular type of joint involved.
-How muscles are named
-Location
 -Function
-Shape
-Direction of fibers
-Number of heads or divisions
-Points of attachment
-Size of muscle
-Axial Muscles
-Remember—Body can be organized into central or axial region; and peripheral or
appendicular.
-Muscles of the head and neck
-Muscles of facial expression
-Unique: At least one of their points of attachment is to the deep layers of
the skin over the face or neck. Contraction of these muscles produce a
variety of facial expressions
-Occipitofrontalis: Two muscles. One over the forehead (frontal), other
over the occipital bone (back of the head)
-Connected by connective tissue aponeurosis that covers the top of
the skull
-Corrugator supercili: Draws eyebrows together and produces vertical
wrinkles above the nose (frowning)
-Orbicularis oculi: Encircles and closes the eye (blinking)
-Orbicularis oris and buccinator: Pucker the mouth (kissing) and presses
the lips and cheeks against the teeth
-Zygomaticus major: Draws the corner of the mouth upward (laughing)
-Muscles of mastication
-Responsible for chewing movements
-Either elevate or retract the mandible (masseter and temporalis) or open
and protrude it while causing sideways movement (pterygoids)
-Pull of gravity helps open the mandible in mastication. Buccinator
muscles hold food between the teeth as mandible moves up and down and
side to side.
-Muscles that move the head
 -Paired muscles on either side of the neck are responsible for head
movements
-Sternoclediomastoid—when both contract at the same time, head is
flexed on the thorax “prayers muscle”. If only one muscle contracts, head
and face turn to opposite side.
-Semispinalis capitis: Extensor of head and helps flex it laterally.
-When acting together, splenius capitis muscles serve as strong extensors
that return the head to upright position after flexion. When either muscle
acts alone, contraction results in rotation and tilting toward the side.
-Longissimus capitis muscles are covered and not visible. Run from neck
vertebrae to the mastoid process of the temporal bone on either side and
cause extension of the head when acting together. When only one is
contracting, it will bend and rotate the head.
-Trapezius: Neck, across shoulders…this is to move shoulders. Occipital
bone acts as the insertion and trapezius can help extend the neck.
-Trunk muscle
-Muscles of the thorax
-Critical importance in respiration
-Internal and external intercostal muscles attach to ribs at different places, fibers
oriented in different directions. Contraction of the external intercostals elevates
and contraction of the internal intercostals depresses the ribs—important in the
breathing process.
-During inspiration dome-shaped diaphragm flattens, increasing size and volume
of thoracic cavity. Air then enters lungs. Other muscles such as
sternocleiomastoid, serratus anterior, pectoralis major, assist in expanding volume
of thorax during heavy breathing—as may occur during moderate to heavy
exercise.
-Muscles of the abdominal wall
-Muscles of anterior and lateral abdominal wall arranged in three layers, fibers in
each layer running in different directions much like layers of wood in a sheet of
plywood. Result is very strong girdle of muscle that covers and supports
abdominal cavity and its internal organs.
-Fibers of these three layers are arranged to provide maximum strength
-External oblique, fibers extend inferiorly and medially
 -Internal oblique—middle muscle layer; run almost at right angles of those
of the external obliques above it.
-Transversus abdominis: innermost muscle layer, fibers are transverse
-Band- or strap-shaped rectus abdominis muscle runs down the midline
from thorax to pubis.
-When a surgeon cuts the abdomen, care is taken to try to maintain inherent
strength of the wall after surgery by sparing important nerves and blood vessels
and using suturing techniques during closure that will restore the direction of
fibers in the cut layers of muscle.
-Muscles of the back
-80% of the world will experience backaches during their life
-Back muscles are very important to health and fitness.
-Superficial back muscles play a major role in moving the head and limbs.
-Deep back muscles allow us to move our vertebral column which helps us bend,
stabilizes our trunk to maintain stable posture.
-Erector spinae muscle group: Number of long, thin muscles that travel all the
way down our backs.
-These muscles extend the vertebral column and also flex the back
laterally and rotate it a little.
-Deeper are interspinales and multifidus group: Each connect one vertebrae to the
next, help extend the back and neck or flex them to the side.
-Muscles of the pelvic floor
-Structures of the pelvic cavity are supported by a reinforced muscular floor that
guards the outlet below.
-Muscular pelvic floor filling the diamond-shaped outlet is called the perineum.
-Passing through the floor are the anal canal and urethra in both sexes and
the vagina in the female.
-The two levator ani and coccygenus muscles form most of the pelvic floor. They
stretch across the pelvic cavity like a hammock. Diamond-shaped outlet can be
divided into two triangles by a line drawn from side to side between the ischial
tuberosities.
-Urogenital triangle is anterior to this line, extends to pubic synthesis
-Anal triangle is posterior, ends at coccyx.
 -Ischiocavernosus and bulbospongiosus muscles associated with the penis in male
and vagina in female.
-Constriction of muscles called uretheral sphincter encircle urethra in both
sexes, helps control flow of urine.
-Anal triangle allows passage of the anal canal. Terminal portion of the canal is
surrounded by external anal sphincter, which regulates defecation.
Case Study 1
At the sound of the starting pistol, Jeremy bursts forward out of the blocks, sprinting down the
track. About 20 meters into the race, he suddenly feels a sharp pain along the side of his
abdomen. Wincing, he slows down to a stop.

1. What muscle or muscle group has Jeremy likely injured?

a. Pectoralis
b. External intercostals
c. External oblique
d. Rectus abdominus
2. What muscle does Jeremy use when he closes his eyes in pain?
a. Orbicularis oris
b. Masseter
c. Buccinator
d. Orbicularis oculi
3. Which of the following muscles does Jeremy NOT use in breathing?
a. Diaphragm
b. External intercostals
c. Pectoralis major
d. Internal intercostals
4. After several minutes, Jeremy rolls onto his back and tries to sit up. Which of the
following muscles would contract to pull him up to a sitting position?
a. Rectus abdominis
b. Masseter
c. Spenius capitis
d. Temporalis