Library · Anatomy
Skeletal muscle
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Skeletal muscle moves much of the skeleton. Picture an active cable attached to bone: when its fibers contract, the muscle generates tension. Connective tissue carries that tension into tendons or other attachment sites, which pull on bone and move a joint.
Skeletal muscle also supports posture, stabilizes bones and joints, and produces heat. It is one of the body’s three muscle tissues, distinct from cardiac muscle in the heart and smooth muscle in organs and blood vessels.
In brief
In most of the body, skeletal muscle is attached to the skeleton and produces movement. When its fibers contract, connective tissue carries the resulting tension into tendons or attachment sites that pull on bones.
It shortens and transfers tension to bone.
Beyond moving the skeleton, skeletal muscle helps maintain posture, stabilizes bones and joints, and generates heat. It is distinct from cardiac muscle in the heart and smooth muscle in internal organs and blood vessels.
Sources (2)
- OpenStax, Rice UniversityChapter 10 Review: Muscle TissuePublished
- OpenStax, Rice University10.2 Skeletal MusclePublished
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