Explore this page and answer the following questions in complete sentences:
3. How does the muscular system help us maintain homeostasis?
4. Why do we have 3 different types of muscle instead of just one type?
The muscular system can be found all over your body. There are three types of muscles in the human body, all of which help your body function on a daily basis. These muscles do not work alone; they work in conjunction with several other human body systems to help you function at your best- and at equilibrium. |
The three types of muscles are smooth, cardiac and skeletal. You have over 650 muscles in your body and they make up roughly half your body weight!
Smooth muscle is found in the lining of your internal organs, including your digestive tract. You cannot control your smooth muscles- they're involuntary. Cardiac muscle is found only in your heart. It contracts your heart and never gets tired. You cannot control your cardiac muscle- they're also involuntary. Finally, skeletal muscle is the muscle you usually think of- and the ones you work out at the gym. These are the only muscle type that you can control- that's called voluntary. They are usually attached to your skeleton and allow you to move around. There are 43 muscles in the human face alone! |
If your heart beats an average of 80 beats per minute, your heart beats about 4,800 times per hour. That's a whopping 115,200 times per day. Over the course of a year, your heart would beat about 42,048,000 times! If you live to be 80 years old, your heart would have beaten approximately 3,363,840,000 times! [wonderopolis.org]
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Muscles work in pairs- flexors (bend at a joint) and extensors (straighten at a joint). How well do you know your muscles? Play the muscle matching game at:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/science/humanbody/body/interactives/3djigsaw_02/index.shtml?muscles
How does the muscular system help your body maintain homeostasis?
1. Without your muscular system, your cardiovascular system wouldn't be able to circulate blood throughout the body.
2. Similarly, without your muscular system, your respiratory system relies on one large muscle beneath your lungs to help you inhale every breath. This muscle is your diaphragm.
3. Furthermore, your digestive system would be unable to move food through your body without your muscular system.
4. A final example to explain homeostasis of skeletal muscle with the nervous system is when you are cold, you start to shiver. Your muscles generate heat. Because the muscles generate heat, this ceases the shivering when they provide heat. This is homeostasis in the skeletal muscles. Your body must maintain the average temperature (37°C) and when your body shivers it is because your body has dropped below that temperature. For your body to get back up to that temperature it uses homeostasis of the skeletal muscles by generating heat to warm you up.
Essentially, if our body could not do this, we would freeze to death. The opposite of this is when your body has too much heat, you begin to sweat, and this sweat cools the body down back to 37° therefore maintaining homeostasis and balancing out the body’s temperature.
1. Without your muscular system, your cardiovascular system wouldn't be able to circulate blood throughout the body.
2. Similarly, without your muscular system, your respiratory system relies on one large muscle beneath your lungs to help you inhale every breath. This muscle is your diaphragm.
3. Furthermore, your digestive system would be unable to move food through your body without your muscular system.
4. A final example to explain homeostasis of skeletal muscle with the nervous system is when you are cold, you start to shiver. Your muscles generate heat. Because the muscles generate heat, this ceases the shivering when they provide heat. This is homeostasis in the skeletal muscles. Your body must maintain the average temperature (37°C) and when your body shivers it is because your body has dropped below that temperature. For your body to get back up to that temperature it uses homeostasis of the skeletal muscles by generating heat to warm you up.
Essentially, if our body could not do this, we would freeze to death. The opposite of this is when your body has too much heat, you begin to sweat, and this sweat cools the body down back to 37° therefore maintaining homeostasis and balancing out the body’s temperature.