Locomotion and Movement

Biology · Class 11

Lesson 12 of 12 · 13 min

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Must-know facts

22 facts

  1. 1All locomotions are movements, but not all movements are locomotions.
  2. 2Three cell movements in humans: amoeboid (macrophages, leucocytes), ciliary (trachea, oviduct), muscular.
  3. 3Muscle is mesodermal and about 40–50 per cent of adult body weight.
  4. 4Skeletal: striated, voluntary. Visceral: smooth, involuntary. Cardiac: striated, branched, involuntary.
  5. 5Muscle → fascicles (held by fascia) → muscle fibres (sarcolemma, syncytium) → myofibrils → sarcomeres.
  6. 6Sarcoplasmic reticulum stores Ca²⁺.
  7. 7I band: actin (thin), light. A band: myosin (thick), dark. Z line bisects I band; M line in middle of A band; H zone is thick filament not overlapped.
  8. 8Sarcomere = Z line to Z line, the functional unit of contraction.
  9. 9Thin filament: 2 F actins (polymers of G actin) + 2 tropomyosin filaments + troponin at intervals.
  10. 10Meromyosin: HMM (head + short arm) and LMM (tail). Head is an ATPase with ATP binding sites and actin sites.
  11. 11Contraction order: motor neuron → acetylcholine at motor end plate → action potential → Ca²⁺ released → Ca²⁺ binds troponin → actin sites exposed → cross bridge (ATP energy) → actin pulled to centre of A band → sarcomere shortens.
  12. 12During contraction I band and H zone shorten; A band length stays the same.
  13. 13Relaxation: Ca²⁺ pumped back into sarcoplasmic cisternae, actin sites masked, Z lines return.
  14. 14Red fibres: much myoglobin, many mitochondria, aerobic. White fibres: little myoglobin, few mitochondria, much sarcoplasmic reticulum, anaerobic.
  15. 15206 bones: axial 80, appendicular 126 (limbs 120 + girdles 6).
  16. 16Skull 22 (8 cranial + 14 facial); plus 1 hyoid and 3 ossicles per ear.
  17. 17Vertebrae 26: cervical 7, thoracic 12, lumbar 5, sacral 1, coccygeal 1.
  18. 18Ribs: 12 pairs; 7 true, 3 false (vertebrochondral), 2 floating; bicephalic.
  19. 19Each limb 30 bones. Hand: 1+1+1+8+5+14. Leg: 1+1+1+7+5+14+patella.
  20. 20Coxal bone = ilium + ischium + pubis; acetabulum takes the femur. Glenoid cavity takes the humerus.
  21. 21Joints: fibrous (sutures, no movement), cartilaginous (vertebrae, limited), synovial (considerable).
  22. 22Synovial: ball and socket (shoulder), hinge (knee), pivot (atlas/axis), gliding (carpals), saddle (thumb carpal–metacarpal).

Common traps

Where marks are lost

Saying the A band shortens during contraction.

The A band keeps its length; the I band and H zone shorten as thin filaments slide inwards.

Saying troponin runs along the whole length of actin.

Tropomyosin runs along the F actins; troponin sits on it at regular intervals and masks the myosin binding sites.

Writing that Ca²⁺ binds tropomyosin or myosin to start contraction.

Ca²⁺ binds a subunit of troponin, which uncovers the active sites on actin.

Saying there are 11 pairs of ribs, or that floating ribs join the sternum.

12 pairs: 7 true (to sternum), 3 false (to the 7th rib), 2 floating (no ventral connection).

Counting the hyoid and ear ossicles among the 22 skull bones.

Skull = 8 cranial + 14 facial = 22. The hyoid and the ossicles are extra, but still inside the 80 axial bones.

Calling the knee a ball and socket joint.

Knee is a hinge joint; ball and socket is between the humerus and pectoral girdle.

Saying white fibres have more mitochondria than red fibres.

Red fibres: myoglobin and many mitochondria (aerobic). White fibres: few mitochondria, more sarcoplasmic reticulum (anaerobic).

Confusing gout with arthritis, or tetany with myasthenia gravis.

Gout: uric acid crystals in joints. Tetany: spasms from low Ca²⁺. Myasthenia gravis: autoimmune attack at the neuromuscular junction.

Key terms

26 terms

Locomotion
A voluntary movement that changes the organism's place.
Amoeboid movement
Movement by pseudopodia formed by protoplasmic streaming, as in macrophages and leucocytes.
Ciliary movement
Coordinated beating of cilia in tubular organs such as the trachea and oviduct.
Fascicle
A bundle of muscle fibres inside a skeletal muscle.
Fascia
Collagenous connective tissue layer holding the fascicles of a muscle together.
Sarcolemma
The plasma membrane of a muscle fibre.
Syncytium
A cell mass with many nuclei in one cytoplasm, as in a muscle fibre.
Sarcoplasmic reticulum
The endoplasmic reticulum of a muscle fibre; stores calcium ions.
Sarcomere
The part of a myofibril between two Z lines; the functional unit of contraction.
I band
Light, isotropic band containing thin actin filaments; shortens on contraction.
A band
Dark, anisotropic band containing thick myosin filaments; keeps its length on contraction.
H zone
Central part of the thick filaments not overlapped by thin filaments.
Tropomyosin
Protein running in two filaments along the F actins of a thin filament.
Troponin
Complex protein on tropomyosin whose subunit masks actin's myosin binding sites at rest.
Meromyosin
The monomer of the thick filament, with a head and short arm (HMM) and a tail (LMM).
Cross bridge
The link formed when a myosin head binds an exposed active site on actin.
Motor unit
A motor neuron together with the muscle fibres it supplies.
Neuromuscular junction
Motor end plate: where a motor neuron meets the sarcolemma.
Myoglobin
Red oxygen-storing pigment of muscle, abundant in red fibres.
Dicondylic skull
A skull that joins the vertebral column by two occipital condyles.
Bicephalic rib
A rib with two articular surfaces at its dorsal end.
Acetabulum
Cavity in the coxal bone where the femur articulates.
Glenoid cavity
Depression below the acromion of the scapula where the humerus articulates.
Synovial joint
A joint with a fluid-filled cavity between the bones, allowing considerable movement.
Tetany
Rapid muscle spasms caused by low Ca²⁺ in body fluid.
Osteoporosis
Age-related loss of bone mass with more fractures; low oestrogen is a common cause.
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