Definitions for muscle contraction
mus·cle con·trac·tion

Princeton's WordNetRate this definition:5.0 / 1 vote

1. contraction, muscular contraction, muscle contractionnoun

   (physiology) a shortening or tensing of a part or organ (especially of a muscle or muscle fiber)

WikipediaRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. Muscle contraction

   Muscle contraction is the activation of tension-generating sites within muscle cells. In physiology, muscle contraction does not necessarily mean muscle shortening because muscle tension can be produced without changes in muscle length, such as when holding something heavy in the same position. The termination of muscle contraction is followed by muscle relaxation, which is a return of the muscle fibers to their low tension-generating state.For the contractions to happen, the muscle cells must rely on the interaction of two types of filaments which are the thin and thick filaments. Thin filaments are two strands of actin coiled around each, and thick filaments consist of mostly elongated proteins called myosin. Together, these two filaments form myofibrils which are important organelles in the skeletal muscle system. Muscle contraction can also be described based on two variables: length and tension. A muscle contraction is described as isometric if the muscle tension changes but the muscle length remains the same. In contrast, a muscle contraction is isotonic if muscle tension remains the same throughout the contraction. If the muscle length shortens, the contraction is concentric; if the muscle length lengthens, the contraction is eccentric. In natural movements that underlie locomotor activity, muscle contractions are multifaceted as they are able to produce changes in length and tension in a time-varying manner. Therefore, neither length nor tension is likely to remain the same in skeletal muscles that contract during locomotor activity. In vertebrates, skeletal muscle contractions are neurogenic as they require synaptic input from motor neurons. A single motor neuron is able to innervate multiple muscle fibers, thereby causing the fibers to contract at the same time. Once innervated, the protein filaments within each skeletal muscle fiber slide past each other to produce a contraction, which is explained by the sliding filament theory. The contraction produced can be described as a twitch, summation, or tetanus, depending on the frequency of action potentials. In skeletal muscles, muscle tension is at its greatest when the muscle is stretched to an intermediate length as described by the length-tension relationship. Unlike skeletal muscle, the contractions of smooth and cardiac muscles are myogenic (meaning that they are initiated by the smooth or heart muscle cells themselves instead of being stimulated by an outside event such as nerve stimulation), although they can be modulated by stimuli from the autonomic nervous system. The mechanisms of contraction in these muscle tissues are similar to those in skeletal muscle tissues.

ChatGPTRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. muscle contraction

   Muscle contraction is a physiological process that involves the shortening or tensing of a muscle in response to a stimulus, which often leads to movement. This process is driven by the interaction of the proteins actin and myosin within the muscle fibers, facilitated by chemical reactions that use energy stored in the form of ATP. Muscle contractions can be voluntary (under conscious control, like moving an arm) or involuntary (automatic, like the beating of a heart).

WikidataRate this definition:3.3 / 6 votes

1. Muscle contraction

   Muscle fiber generates tension during the action of actin and myosin cross-bridge cycling. While under tension, the muscle may lengthen, shorten, or remain the same. Although the term contraction implies shortening, when referring to the muscular system, it means muscle fibers generating tension with the help of motor neurons. Voluntary muscle contraction is controlled by the central nervous system. The brain sends signals, in the form of action potentials, through the nervous system to the motor neuron that innervates several muscle fibers. In the case of some reflexes, the signal to contract can originate in the spinal cord through a feedback loop with the grey matter. Involuntary muscles such as the heart or smooth muscles in the gut and vascular system contract as a result of non-conscious brain activity or stimuli proceeding in the body to the muscle itself.

U.S. National Library of MedicineRate this definition:3.3 / 6 votes

1. Muscle Contraction

   A process leading to shortening and/or development of tension in muscle tissue. Muscle contraction occurs by a sliding filament mechanism whereby actin filaments slide inward among the myosin filaments.

Matched Categories

1. • Physiology
   • Shortening

How to pronounce muscle contraction?

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Numerology

1. Chaldean Numerology

   The numerical value of muscle contraction in Chaldean Numerology is: 3

2. Pythagorean Numerology

   The numerical value of muscle contraction in Pythagorean Numerology is: 7

References

1. ^ Princeton's WordNet
   http://wordnetweb.princeton.edu/perl/webwn?s=muscle contraction
2. ^ Wikipedia
   https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muscle_Contraction
3. ^ ChatGPT
   https://chat.openai.com
4. ^ Wikidata
   https://www.wikidata.org/w/index.php?search=muscle contraction