Body system · 443 pieces

Muscles

Skeletal muscles, tendons and aponeuroses that move the body.

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Overview

Skeletal muscle makes up roughly 40% of body mass. Each muscle spans one or more joints, attaching to bone through tendons or flat aponeuroses; when its fibres shorten it pulls the bones together. Muscles work in groups: agonists produce a movement, antagonists control it, and stabilisers hold neighbouring joints still. The model includes the muscles of the limbs, trunk, neck, face, larynx and pharynx, and the diaphragm.

Functions

  • Produce movement and maintain posture
  • Stabilise joints
  • Drive breathing (diaphragm and intercostals)
  • Generate heat

Clinical notes

  • Strains and tears from overload
  • Compartment syndrome when pressure rises within a fascial compartment
  • Muscular dystrophies progressively weaken muscle fibres

Organs & groups in this system

Diaphragm

The dome-shaped muscle separating chest from abdomen; the main muscle of breathing.

1 structures

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443 modelled pieces. Click a structure to open it in the atlas.