involuntary

Examples of involuntary in the following topics:

• Neural Mechanisms (Respiratory Center)

  • Involuntary respiration is any form of respiratory control that is not under direct, conscious control.
  • Breathing is required to sustain life, so involuntary respiration allows it to happen when voluntary respiration is not possible, such as during sleep.
  • Involuntary respiration also has metabolic functions that work even when a person is conscious.
  • This region of the brain controls many involuntary and metabolic functions besides the respiratory system, including certain aspects of cardiovascular function and involuntary muscle movements (in the cerebellum).
  • Its main function is to control the rate or speed of involuntary respiration.

• Abnormal Contractions of Skeletal Muscle

  • Involuntary muscle contractions are referred to as spasms, and can be due to abnormal activity of the nerve or the muscle.
  • In medicine, a spasm is a sudden, involuntary contraction of a muscle, a group of muscles, or a hollow organ, or a similarly sudden contraction of an orifice .
  • There are a variety of other causes of involuntary muscle contractions, which may be more serious, depending on the cause.

• Types of Muscle Tissue

  • Skeletal muscle is striated, multinucleate, and involuntary.
  • As an involuntary muscle, it propels substances along the internal passageways.
  • Although cardiac muscle is involuntary in nature, it is structurally different from smooth muscle.
  • The involuntary contraction of cardiac muscle is coordinated by the intercalated disks, so the entire heart beats in a controlled, uniform manner, ensuring that blood is efficiently pumped from the chambers.

• Comparing the Somatic and Autonomic Nervous Systems

  • The peripheral nervous system includes both a voluntary, somatic branch and an involuntary division regulating visceral functions.
  • The somatic nervous system controls all voluntary muscular systems within the body, and also mediates involuntary reflex arcs.
  • Whereas most of its actions are involuntary, some, such as breathing, work in tandem with the conscious mind.

• Defecation Reflex

  • Defecation is a combination of voluntary and involuntary processes with enough force to remove waste material from the digestive system.
  • In the adult human, the process of defecation is normally a combination of both voluntary and involuntary processes with enough force to remove waste material from the digestive system.

• Urinary Incontinence

  • Urinary incontinence (UI) is any involuntary leakage of urine.

• Characteristics of Muscle Tissue

  • Muscle tissue can be classified functionally, voluntary or involuntary and morphologically striated or non-striated.
  • As with skeletal muscle cardiac muscle is striated, however it is not consciously controlled and so is involuntary.
  • Smooth muscle is non-striated, although it contains the same myofilaments they are just organised differently, and involuntary.
  • Both cardiac and smooth muscle are involuntary while skeletal muscle is voluntary.

• Autonomic Nervous System (ANS)

  • The autonomic nervous system (ANS or visceral nervous system or involuntary nervous system) is the part of the peripheral nervous system that acts as a control system functioning largely below the level of consciousness and controls visceral functions .
  • Whereas most of its actions are involuntary, some, such as breathing, work in tandem with the conscious mind.
  • Whereas most of its actions are involuntary, some, such as breathing, work in tandem with the conscious mind.

• Micturition and the Micturition Reflex

  • In infants, elderly individuals, and those with neurological injury, urination may occur as an involuntary reflex.
  • Brain centers that regulate urination include the pontine micturition center, periaqueductal gray, and the cerebral cortex, which cause both involuntary and voluntary control over micturition.
  • This reflex may lead to involuntary micturition in individuals that may not be able to feel the sensation of urinary urge, due to the firing of the stretch receptors themselves.

• Control of Autonomic Nervous System Function

  • The autonomic nervous system (ANS) is the part of the peripheral nervous system which acts to control involuntary functions which are critical for survival.
  • The medulla's main functions are to control the cardiac, respiratory and vasomotor centers, to mediate autonomic, involuntary functions, such as breathing, heart rate and blood pressure, and to regulate reflex actions such as coughing, sneezing, vomiting and swallowing.