Muscular System Key terms
What is Abduction
Moving a body part away from the midline.
What is Adduction
Moving a body part toward the midline.
What are Cardiac Muscle:
Forms the walls of the heart; it is involuntary and contracts to circulate blood.
What is Circumduction
Moving in a circle at a joint (e.g., swinging an arm).
what is Contractibility
The ability of muscle fibers to shorten and thicken, causing movement.
what is Contracture
A severe tightening of a flexor muscle, resulting in the bending of a joint (e.g., foot drop).
what is Dorsiflexion
Bending the foot toward the knee.
What is Elasticity
The ability to return to the original shape after contracting or stretching.
What is Excitability (Irritability)
The ability to respond to a stimulus, such as a nerve impulse.
What is Extensibility
The ability to be stretched.
What is Extension
Straightening a body part.
What is Fascia
A tough, sheetlike membrane that covers and protects the tissue (e.g., the lumbodorsal fascia).
What is Flexion
Bending a body part.
What is Insertion
The end of a muscle attachment that moves when the muscle contracts.
What is Involuntary
Muscle control that is not under conscious control (applies to cardiac and visceral/smooth muscle).
What is Muscle Tone
A state of partial contraction at all times, even when not in use.
What is the Muscular System
The system is made up of more than 600 muscles.
What is the Origin
The end of a muscle attachment that does not move when the muscle contracts.
What is Plantar Flexion
Bending the foot away from the knee.
What is Pronation
the natural inward rolling of the foot that occurs during activities like walking or running, acting as a shock absorber
What is Rotation
Turning a body part around its own axis.
Skeletal Muscle
Attached to bones; it is voluntary and has a striped (striated) appearance.
What are Tendons
Strong, tough, fibrous connective-tissue cords (e.g., the Achilles tendon).
What are Visceral (Smooth) Muscle
Located in internal organs (e.g., digestive, respiratory systems, blood vessels); it is involuntary and contracts slowly and steadily to cause movement in organs.
What is Voluntary
Muscle control that is under conscious control (applies to skeletal muscle).