concentric contraction
(noun)
A type of muscle contraction in which the muscles shorten while generating force.
Examples of concentric contraction in the following topics:
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Types of Muscle Contractions: Isotonic and Isometric
- Isotonic muscle contractions can be either concentric or eccentric.
- A concentric contraction is a type of muscle contraction in which the muscles shorten while generating force, overcoming resistance.
- For example, when lifting a heavy weight, a concentric contraction of the biceps would cause the arm to bend at the elbow, lifting the weight towards the shoulder.
- For example, a voluntary eccentric contraction would be the controlled lowering of the heavy weight raised during the above concentric contraction.
- An isotonic concentric contraction results in the muscle shortening, an isotonic eccentric contraction results in the muscle lengthening.
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Mechanism and Contraction Events of Cardiac Muscle Fibers
- The gap junctions spread action potentials to support the synchronized contraction of the myocardium.
- In cardiac, skeletal, and some smooth muscle tissue, contraction occurs through a phenomenon known as excitation contraction coupling (ECC).
- The actual mechanical contraction response in cardiac muscle occurs via the sliding filament model of contraction.
- The pathway of contraction can be described in five steps:
- Intracellular calcium is then removed by the sarcoplasmic reticulum, dropping intracellular calcium concentration, returning the troponin complex to its inhibiting position on the active site of actin, and effectively ending contraction as the actin filaments return to their initial position, relaxing the muscle.
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How Skeletal Muscles Are Named
- Parallel muscles are characterized by fascicles that run parallel to one another, and contraction of these muscle groups acts as an extension of the contraction of a single muscle fiber.
- Muscle fibers can often exert opposing effects during contraction, such as not pulling in the same direction depending on the location of the muscle fiber.
- Fascicles pull on the tendon at an angle, thus not moving as far at the parallel muscles during a contraction.
- The fibers of the circular or sphincter muscles are arranged concentrically around an opening or recess.
- As the muscle contracts, the opening it circumvents gets smaller.
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Calcium and Phosphate Balance Regulation
- Ninety-nine percent or more is deposited in bone and the remainder plays a vital role in nerve conduction, muscle contraction, hormone release and cell signalling.
- The plasma concentration of Ca++ is 2.2 mmol/l and phosphate is 1.0 mmol/l.
- The concentration of Ca++ in the cytoplasm is < 10-6 mmol/l but the concentration of Ca++ in the cell is much higher as calcium is taken up (and is able to be released from) cell organelles.
- It is the ionized calcium concentration that is monitored by the parathyroid gland and if low, parathyroid hormone secretion is increased.
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Exercise-Induced Muscle Damage
- Exercise damages muscles due to eccentric and concentric muscle loading and often results in delayed onset muscle soreness (DOMS).
- Exercise damages muscles due to eccentric and concentric muscle loading.
- Resistance training, and particularly high loading during eccentric contractions, results in delayed onset muscle soreness (DOMS).
- Acute inflammation of the muscle cells, as understood in exercise physiology, can result after induced eccentric and concentric muscle training.
- Damage to the sarcomeres causes aninflux of white blood cells, leading to inflammation, which is itself associated with increased plasma enzyme concentration, myoglobinemia, and abnormal muscle structure and histology.
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Muscular Dystrophy
- This leads to disruptions of mechanical stabilization and calcium concentration regulation within the sarcomeres, altering the ability of filaments to bind and cause contraction.
- In affected muscle the tissue becomes disorganized and the concentration of dystrophin (green) is greatly reduced.
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Control of Hormone Secretion
- The physiological activity of a hormone depends largely on its concentration within the circulatory system.
- The effects of too high or too low a concentration of hormones can be damaging—this level must be tightly controlled.
- The hormone oxytocin is produced by the posterior pituitary that stimulates and enhances contractions during labor.
- Oxytocin travels to the uterus through the bloodstream, stimulating the muscles in the uterine wall to contract which in turn increases the activation of the pressure receptors and stimulates further release of oxytocin.
- The strength of muscle contractions intensifies until the baby is born and the stimulation of the pressure receptors is removed, which stops the release of oxytocin.
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Slow-Twitch and Fast-Twitch Muscle Fibers
- Skeletal muscle contains different fibers which allow for both rapid short-term contractions and slower, repeatable long-term contractions.
- Slow-twitch fibers are designed for endurance activities that require long-term, repeated contractions, like maintaining posture or running a long distance.
- The ATP required for slow-twitch fiber contraction is generated through aerobic respiration (glycolysis and Krebs cycle), whereby 30 molecules of ATP are produced from each glucose molecule in the presence of oxygen.
- Due to their large oxygen requirements, slow-twitch fibers are associated with large numbers of blood vessels, mitochondria, and high concentrations of myoglobin, an oxygen-binding protein found in the blood that gives muscles their reddish color.
- Fast-twitch fibers are good for rapid movements like jumping or sprinting that require fast muscle contractions of short duration.
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Adrenergic Neurons and Receptors
- Agonist binding thus causes a rise in the intracellular concentration of the second messenger cAMP.
- α1 couples to Gq, which results in increased intracellular Ca2+ that results in smooth muscle contraction.
- α2, on the other hand, couples to Gi, which causes a decrease of cAMP activity, that results in smooth muscle contraction.
- Specific actions of the α1-receptor mainly involve smooth muscle contraction.
- Other areas of smooth muscle contraction are:
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Short-Term Chemical Control
- Vasoconstriction is the narrowing of blood vessels resulting from contraction of the muscular wall of the vessels, particularly the large arteries and small arterioles.
- The mechanism that leads to vasoconstriction results from the increased concentration of calcium (Ca2+ ions) and phosphorylated myosin within vascular smooth muscle cells.
- Once elevated, the intracellular calcium concentration is returned to its basal level through a variety of protein pumps and calcium exchanges located on the plasma membrane and sarcoplasmic reticulum.
- This reduction in calcium removes the stimulus necessary for contraction allowing for a return to baseline.
- As with vasoconstriction, vasodilation is modulated by calcium ion concentration and myosin phosphorylation within vascular smooth muscle cells.