1. How much muscles make up the bodies weight?
On average, your body is 40% muscle.
2. What are muscles made up of?
Muscles are all made of the same material, a type of elastic (sort of like the material in a rubber band). Thousands, even tens of thousands of small fibers make up each muscle. Muscles are a type of tissue that is composed of contractile cells or fibers. The cell of fibers contract and create movement on the bone they are attached to. Muscle tissue has the ability to contract (shorten) and also has the property of irritability, conductivity and elasticity.
3. How do muscles attach to the bone?
Our bodies have different types of tissues that are used to connect all of our body parts. When bones are connected to muscles, the special tissues are called "tendons". Tendons are cords made of tough tissue, and they work as special connector pieces between bone and muscle. The tendons are attached so well that when you contract one of your muscles, the tendon and bone move along with it. Tendons are very strong, they are built from long strands of protein and they are not very stretchy.
4. How many muscles are in the body?
There are more than 639 muscles in the body. Out of the 639/ 640 muscles, 30 of them are facial muscles.
5. How do muscles operate parts of the body?
Movements of your musculoskeletal system are typically under your conscious control. When you want to move your body, a portion of your brain called the motor cortex sends an electrical signal to the appropriate muscle through your spinal cord and local nerves. This muscle contracts and initiates movement. As they move, the muscle and its associated joint send feedback signals up through your nerves to a section of your brain called the cerebellum. Together, the outward and inward nerve signals passing between your brain and musculoskeletal system give you the ability to coordinate and fine-tune your body's movements and position.
When they contract during movement, your muscles can only pull your bones in a single direction. If you want to return your body to its original position, the muscles that performed the initial movement can't help you achieve this objective. To overcome this problem, your musculoskeletal system uses another set of associated muscles that contract in the opposite direction and pull your body back into place. The muscles in your body that pull your limbs into a bent position are commonly referred to as flexors; the muscles that straighten your limbs are commonly referred to as extensors.
6. List the different types of muscles and describe them
Each muscle belongs to one of the three categories: Smooth muscles, which control involuntary movements such as breathing and digestion- Cardiac muscles, which is found in the heart - Skeletal muscle, which moves bones.
1) Smooth muscle - controlled by the autonomic nervous system; may either be generally inactive, then respond to neural stimulation or hormones or may be rhythmic. Sometimes also called involuntary muscles, are usually in sheets, or layers, with one layer of muscle behind the other. You can't control this type of muscle. Your brain and body tell these muscles what to do without you even thinking about it.
2) Cardiac muscle - found in the heart, acts like rhythmic smooth muscle, modulated by neural activity and hormones. It is also known as the myocardium. The thick muscles of the heart contract to pump blood out and then relax to let blood back in after it has circulated through the body. Just like smooth muscle, cardiac muscle works all by itself with no help from you. A special group of cells within the heart are known as the pacemaker of the heart because it controls the heartbeat.
3) Skeletal muscle - move us around and responsible for most of our behaviour; most attached to bones at each end via tendons. They are sometimes called striated muscle because the light and dark parts of the muscle fibers make them look striped. Skeletal