Karoline Marquis
Fitch
ENC 1101
17 Oct. 2013
Thesis: The muscular system is the body's network of tissues that controls movement both of the body and within it; furthermore, the muscles of the human body can be divided into three main types: skeletal, smooth, and cardiac.
Kenneth R. Miller and Joseph S. Levine. "The Muscular System." Miller and Levine Biology. Pearson Education Inc., 2010. 16 Oct. 2013
There are three different types of muscle tissue: skeletal, smooth, and cardiac. Each type of muscle is specialized for specific functions in the body. Skeletal muscle is often found, as its name implies, attached to bones, and it is usually under voluntary control. Smooth muscle is found throughout the body and is usually not under voluntary control. Cardiac muscle makes up most of the mass of the heart, and like smooth muscle, it is not under voluntary control.
Weisburd, Stefi. "Smooth-Muscle Cells: Twist and Clout." Science News. 20 June 1987: 389. Science In Context. Web. 16 Oct. 2013.
Researchers at the University of Vermont in Burlington may have found the secret of how smooth-muscle cells contract. Physiologist David M. Warshaw and his colleagues have found evidence that, unlike skeletal muscle, which shortens like an accordion, smooth-muscle cells contract in a corkscrew-like manner. This finding, says Warshaw, could help explain why smooth muscles contract more efficiently and slowly than do skeletal muscles. Also, past optical microscopy on smooth muscle had suggested that the contracting myosin and actin are arranged in helices, but this view has not been widely accepted.
Charge, Sophie B.P., and Michael A. Rudnicki. "Cellular and Molecular Regulation of Muscle Regeneration." Physiological Reviews. Jan. 2004: 209+. Science In Context. Web. 16 Oct. 2013.
This journal entry explains how skeletal muscle is more efficient at muscle regeneration than cardiac and smooth muscle. Skeletal