MICROANATOMY

MUSCLE NERVE CARTILAGE BONE

SKELETAL MUSCLE

Question [CLICK ON ANY CHOICE TO KNOW THE RIGHT ANSWER]
When sarcomeres shorten, what happens to individual thick and thin filaments?
A
Thin filaments shorten; thick filaments lenghten
B
Thick filaments shorten; thick filaments lengthen
C
The filaments slide past one another
D
Both filaments shorten
Explanation: 

Detailed explanation-1: -Muscle contraction occurs when sarcomeres shorten, as thick and thin filament s slide past each other, which is called the sliding filament model of muscle contraction. ATP provides the energy for cross-bridge formation and filament sliding.

Detailed explanation-2: -During contraction, the myosin heads extend from the thick filament surface and attach to actin in the thin filaments, causing the filaments to slide past each other in a cyclic, ATP-driven process.

Detailed explanation-3: -The most widely accepted theory explaining how muscle fibers contract is called the sliding filament theory. According to this theory, myosin filaments use energy from ATP to “walk” along the actin filaments with their cross bridges. This pulls the actin filaments closer together.

Detailed explanation-4: -Muscle contraction occurs when the thin actin and thick myosin filaments slide past each other. It is generally assumed that this process is driven by cross-bridges which extend from the myosin filaments and cyclically interact with the actin filaments as ATP is hydrolysed.

Detailed explanation-5: -The sliding filament theory explains the process of muscle contraction during which the thin filaments slide over the thick filaments, which shortens the myofibril. Each muscle fibre has an alternate light and dark band, which contains a special contractile protein, called actin and myosin respectively.

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