MUSCLE PHYSIOLOGY

Detailed explanation-1: -To meet this energy demand, muscle cells contain mitochondria. These organelles, commonly referred to as the cell’s “power plants, ‘’ convert nutrients into the molecule ATP, which stores energy.

Detailed explanation-2: -Muscle contraction requires fast and sustained ATP production, which is fulfilled primarily by mitochondria (Porter and Wall, 2012). As such, skeletal muscle is known to be a tissue of high energy demand with mitochondria occupying 10%–15% of the fiber volume and densely packed within muscle cells (Eisenberg, 1983).

Detailed explanation-3: -The classic role of mitochondria is oxidative phosphorylation, which generates ATP by utilizing the energy released during the oxidation of the food we eat. ATP is used in turn as the primary energy source for most biochemical and physiological processes, such as growth, movement and homeostasis.

Detailed explanation-4: -Electron microscopy provides pictorial evidence that mitochondria are largely localized in distinct regions of the muscle, below the sarcolemma, termed subsarcolemmal (SS) mitochondria, and between the myofibrils, called intermyofibrillar (IMF) mitochondria.

Detailed explanation-5: -Muscle cells are assiciated with a large number of mitochondria as they require more ATP (energy) to function than other cells. They need this because of their frequent contraction and relaxation, which requires more ATP than average cells.