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Definition: muscle from The Penguin Dictionary of Psychology

Any tissue made up of variously modified elongated cells operating together as a contractile unit. Muscles are made up of muscle cells for contraction, connective tissue for binding and vascular tissue for nourishment. Muscles are generally differentiated according to structure of the cells and to function. See e.g. CARDIAC *MUSCLE, SMOOTH *MUSCLE, STRIATE *MUSCLE.

muscle

From The Hutchinson Unabridged Encyclopedia with Atlas and Weather Guide
Contractile animal tissue that produces locomotion and power and maintains the movement of body substances. Muscle contains very specialized animal cells – long cells – that can contract to between one-half and one-third of their relaxed length. Muscle tissue is sometimes found in large amounts, forming muscles, that are organs. Muscle tissue enables movement. It may move the whole body, or part of it, or some material along a tube within it. Muscles can only do this work by contracting. This explains why muscles are usually found in pairs (antagonistic pairs) where the work done in the contraction of one causes the stretching of the other. Muscle is categorized into three main groups: striped (or striated) muscles are activated by motor nerves under voluntary control – their ends are usually attached via tendons to bones; involuntary or smooth muscles are controlled by motor nerves of the autonomic nervous system , and are located in the gut, blood vessels, iris, and various ducts; …
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Full text Article muscle

From Philip's Encyclopedia
Muscles are contractile tissue, which can...
Tissue that has the ability to contract, enabling movement. There are three basic types: voluntary muscle (or skeletal muscle), involuntary muscle (or smooth muscle), and cardiac muscle. Voluntary muscle is the largest tissue component of the human body, comprising c .40% by weight. It attaches by…
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Full text Article muscle

From Word Origins
Ultimately, muscle and mussel [OE] are the same word, and both owe their origin to a supposed resemblance to a mouse. They go back to Latin mūsculus , literally ‘little mouse’, a diminutive form of mūs ‘mouse’, which was applied to the shellfish because of a similarity in shape and colour, and to…
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Full text Article muscle

From The Hutchinson Unabridged Encyclopedia with Atlas and Weather Guide
Contractile animal tissue that produces locomotion and power and maintains the movement of body substances. Muscle contains very specialized animal cells – long cells – that can contract to between one-half and one-third of their relaxed length. Muscle tissue is sometimes found in large amounts, …
| 1,954 words
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Full text Article muscle

From The Macquarie Dictionary
a discrete bundle or sheet of contractile fibres having the function of producing movement in the animal body. Plural: muscles the tissue of such an organ. Plural: muscles muscular strength; brawn. Plural: muscles political or financial strength, especially when exercised in a ruthless fashion…
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Full text Article The muscles

From The Visual Guides: Understanding The Human Body Full text Article THE ARCHITECTURE OF THE BODY
Description Time Total Time The human body has more than 600 different muscles. 00:02 - 00:05 00:02:25 Most of them are called skeletal muscles because they are attached to the skeleton. 00:06 - 00:12 The skeletal muscles are attached to the bones by whitish fibers called tendons. 00:13 - 00:19 Some…
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Full text Article muscle

From Britannica Concise Encyclopedia
Major muscles of the human body. (1) frontalis,...
Contractile tissue that produces motion for functions, including body movements, digestion, focusing, circulation, and body warmth. It can be classified as striated, cardiac, and smooth or as phasic and tonic (responding quickly or gradually to stimulation, respectively). Striated muscle, whose…
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Full text Article muscle

From The Penguin Dictionary of Science
muscle (a) Muscle contraction, showing the...
A type of tissue in animals able to contract and bring about movement (see the diagram below). Muscles are composed of myocytes containing myofibrils, consisting of repeating units of sarcomeres , the basic contractile unit. These are usually all oriented in one direction so that, when sufficient of…
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Full text Article muscle

From Library of Health and Living: The Encyclopedia of Nutrition and Good Health
Tissues of the body whose cells have the ability to contract, and therefore to perform physical work. Muscles contract or relax in response to nerve impulses. Muscle cells shorten their elongated form through the action of contractile proteins called myosin and actin. This complex process utilizes…
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Full text Article muscle

From The Columbia Encyclopedia
the contractile tissue that effects the movement of and within the body. Muscle tissue in the higher animals is classified as striated, smooth, or cardiac, according to its structure and function. Striated, or skeletal, muscle forms the bulk of the body's muscle tissue and gives the body its general…
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Full text Article Muscles

From The Chicken: A Natural History
Chickens reared for meat instead of eggs are...
Most muscles that are present in mammals are also present in the chicken, but their size, complexity, and type can differ in order to achieve flight and a bipedal stance. The contraction and relaxation of muscles is what allows the body to move. As with many other species, the chicken achieves this…
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