Muscle Map and Muscle System

What is a muscle map?

A muscle map is a picture of the muscles of the human body with links to the muscles that you hover over and click on. Above is an example of a muscle map. Simply click on any muscle and it will take you to a muscle description and also show you all the exercises that you can do with those muscles.

What is the muscular system?

The muscular system is one of the prominent systems in the human body and primarily consists of muscles that function in tandem with skeletal system in order to control the bodily movements. In other words, its prime function is contractibility and to help organs to perform their task properly. In fact, all movement occurring in your body, from walking, running, jumping and cooking to respiration, eye movements and facial expression, is due to muscle contraction. However, the function of muscular system is more than just muscle contraction and also helps body in such activities as heat production and joint stability. It is estimated that more than 80% of warmth generated in your body is as a result of the contraction of muscles.  

Otherwise known as contractile tissues, the muscles are attached to the bones, blood vessels and internal organs and are primarily made up of protein filaments such as actin and myosin. The nervous system controls all muscles in a human body, and a chemical process leads to the contraction as well as relaxation of muscles. Some muscles are voluntary while others are involuntary. For example, the muscles found in your arms and legs are voluntary, and you can control these movements by sending signals to your nervous system. On the other hand, muscles in your heart, intestines and digestive system are involuntary, since they are being automatically controlled by your brain and hormones.

What are included in the muscular system?

In addition to hundreds of muscles, the muscular system’s key components also include tendons and motor nerves. Also known as sinews, tendons refer to white fibrous bands that attach muscles to bones. In fact, tendons help body for flexible movement. However, they are avascular and hence possess poor blood supply. As such, it may take long time to heal in case of injury. The good news is that you can strengthen your tendons with effective exercise programs. When it comes to motor nerves, it is a peripheral nerve whose main function is to regulate all voluntary skeletal and somatic movement in your body by sending impulses from the nervous system. The damage of motor nerves can lead to a number of problems such as difficulty in walking, cramps, muscle weakness and spasms.

Types of Muscles

The muscles found in a human body are categorized into three: skeletal muscles, cardiac muscles and smooth muscles, each of which has a significant role in enabling your body to move and function.

• Skeletal Muscles: As the name suggests, the skeletal muscles’ prime function is to aid for skeletal movements. It also plays pivotal role in maintaining posture, heat generation and joint stabilization, in addition to the protection of internal organs and production of red and white blood cells. There are more than 600 skeletal muscles in a human body and account for about 40% of body weight. Also referred to as somatic, striped or striated muscles, the skeletal muscles are voluntary muscles, as they are supplied by cerebrospinal muscles. A skeletal muscle is made up of muscle and connective tissues, blood vessels and nerves. Its individual muscles are referred to as muscle fibers. With its cylindrical shape, the muscle fibers help for contraction. Each muscle fiber is surrounded by several fibrous connective tissues.
  
  
• Cardiac Muscles: This refers to muscles that are found in your heart. In contrast to skeletal muscles, cardiac muscles are involuntary and work automatically as well as constantly in order to contract and relax your muscles thus constricting blood out of the heart to pump blood to your heart. This in turn occurs as a result of cardiac muscles’ reaction to electrical stimulation in the heart.
  
  
• Smooth Muscles: As in the case of cardiac muscles, smooth muscles are involuntary. But it represents the muscles that are found in the internal organs, such as digestive system, uterus, bladder and airways. The blood vessels also consist of smooth muscles, which in turn help for the easy movement of blood around the body. The smooth muscles are usually in the form of long, slender cells that are attached to bones.

Major Muscle Groups

Among the major muscle groups are abdominal, biceps, deltoids, glutes, hamstrings, quadriceps, trapezius and triceps. Each of these muscle groups has its own significance. For instance, the biceps enables you to pull and lift while deltoids aid for overhead lifting. Likewise, the hamstrings help for walking and trapezius for moving head to sideways.

Muscular System and Exercise

The muscular system’s role is inevitable in controlling the bodily movements and hence it is vital to keep the system healthy and strong. One of the best ways to ensure the proper health of the system is to work out regularly. Some of the highly recommended exercises to enhance the muscular system functions are stork row, bicep curls, stationary lunges and push-ups using stability balls.