Motion Flashcards
Chapter 13 & 14 (69 cards)
Motor system
The network of neurons and muscles that coordinate movement and control voluntary and involuntary motor functions.
Somatic motor system
The part of the motor system responsible for voluntary movements
Smooth muscle
Involuntary, non-striated muscle found in internal organs and blood vessels, controlled by the autonomic nervous system.
Striated muscle
Muscle tissue with a banded appearance, including both skeletal and cardiac muscles, involved in movement.
Cardiac muscle
A specialized striated muscle found only in the heart, responsible for pumping blood.
Skeletal muscle
Striated, voluntary muscle attached to bones that enables movement.
Flexion
A movement that decreases the angle between two body parts
Extension
A movement that increases the angle between two body parts
Muscle fibers
The individual, elongated cells that make up skeletal muscles and contain contractile elements.
Flexors
Muscles that cause flexion by contracting.
Extensors
Muscles that cause extension by contracting.
Antagonists
Muscles that oppose the action of another muscle to refine movement.
Synergists
Muscles that work together to perform the same movement.
Axial muscles
Muscles that control movements of the head
Distal muscles
Muscles that control hands
Alpha motor neurons
Neurons in the spinal cord that stimulate skeletal muscle contraction.
Motor unit
A single alpha motor neuron and all the muscle fibers it innervates.
Motor neuron pool
A group of alpha motor neurons that control a single muscle.
Slow motor unit
A motor unit with slow-twitch
Fast motor unit
A motor unit with fast-twitch fibers for quick but short-lived contractions.
Sarcomere
The basic contractile unit of muscle
Thin filaments
Actin-based filaments that interact with myosin for contraction.
Thick filaments
Myosin-based filaments that generate force for contraction.
Myosin
A motor protein in thick filaments that binds to actin and powers muscle contraction.