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THE
MUSCULAR SYSTEM!
| Without muscles
our bones could not move, our lungs could not breathe, and our heart
would not beat - we would die! |
Here
is some information
about the muscular system:
Not
all muscles in your body are the same. Muscles are organized into three
different groups. These are:
1. SMOOTH MUSCLES - The smooth muscles are muscles that we
don't have control of. They include muscles that surround organs including
the stomach, lungs, and intestines. Because we cannot control them,
they are called "involuntary muscles"
2. SKELETAL MUSCLES - Skeletal muscles are muscles that
are directly attached to bones. These muscles are responsible for
all of the movement our body can accomplish. When most people think
of muscles, they think of skeletal muscles.
3. CARDIAC MUSCLES - Cardiac muscles are only found in one
place in your body...your heart. This involuntary set of muscles make
up the chambers of your heart. They pump all day and night transporting
blood throughout the body.
Muscles
are only able to CONTRACT or pull. Because our body has to move
in many directions, most muscles are set up in pairs so that one
muscle can pull a bone in one direction, and another muscle can pull the
bone back the other way.
There are over 600 kinds of muscles that scientists have named. Some muscles
are tiny - when we get goosebumps, we are actually seeing a tiny muscle
contracting to raise a hair. The longest muscle is satorius muscle in
your leg. The largest muscle in the body is Gluteus Maximus - the
muscle you sit on!
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