The Muscular System

The Anatomical System Most Directly Affected By Exercise... ...is the muscular system. While bones and joints provide the framework for the body, it is the contraction (and relaxation) of specific muscles that enable us to move. There are three types of muscle tissue. They are: Skeletal, Cardiac, and Visceral. Skeletal muscle tissue is attached to bones by tendons, and is typically named according to its location. Skeletal muscle is voluntary muscle; that is, it can be made to contract by conscious effort. Cardia muscle tissue forms the walls of the heart and is involuntary by nature. The third type of muscle, visceral muscle is found in the walls of internal organs like the stomach and intestines and in blood vessels. The contraction of visceral muscle also is involuntary and, thus, is not under conscious control. Both ends of a skeletal muscle are attached to bone via tendons (a cord of connective tissue). In some cases, skeletal muscles are attached to bone by an aponeurosis, a broad, flat type of tendon. The wide, flat insertion of the rectus abdominis is an excellent example of aponeurosis. There are more than 600 muscles within the human body.