BSCI 201- Midterm Exam Guide - Comprehensive Notes for the exam ( 194 pages long!)
Document Summary
Patterns of arrangement of fascicles: muscle fibers in a skeletal muscle form bundles called fascicles. The muscle fibers in a single fascicle are parallel, but the organization of fascicles in the skeletal muscle can vary, as can the relationship between the fascicles and the associated tendon. The different patterns of fascicle organization form parallel muscles, convergent muscles, pennate muscles, circular muscles: parallel muscles: in a parallel muscle, the fascicles are parallel to the long axis of the muscle. Most of the skeletal muscles in the body are parallel muscles. The biceps brachii muscle is a parallel muscle with a central body. When a parallel muscle contracts, it gets shorter and larger in diameter. A skeletal muscle cell can contract until it has shortened by roughly. Because the fibers in a parallel muscle are parallel to the long axis of the muscle, when the fibers contract together, the entire muscle shortens by the same amount.