We know that living organisms can move on their own or can perform other types of movement. Muscle tissue has a ability to relax and contrast and so bring about movement and mechanical work in various parts of the body. There are other movements in the body too which are necessary for the survival of the organism such as the heart beat and the movements of the alimentary canal. Muscle is a contractile form of tissue. It is one of the four major tissue types, the other three being epithelium, connective tissue and nervous tissue. Muscle contraction is used to move parts of the body, as well as to move substances within the body.
According to Wikipedia, Muscles can be divided into following three main groups according to their structure:
- Cardiac (heart) muscle tissue:
Cardiac muscle is a specalized kind of muscle found only within the heart.
Functions of Cardiac (Heart) Muscle Tissue:
- Cardiac muscle tissue plays the most important role in the contraction of the atria and ventricles of the heart.
- It causes the rhythmical beating of the heart, circulating the blood and its contents throughout the body as a consequence. (The University of the Western Cape)
- Skeletal muscle tissue:
Skeletal muscle or "voluntary muscle" is anchored by tendons to bone and is used to effect skeletal movement such as locomotion.
Cardiac and skeletal muscle are "striated" in that they contain sarcomeres and are packed into highly regular arrangements of bundles; smooth muscle has neither. Striated muscle is often used in short, intense bursts, whereas smooth muscle sustains longer or even near-permanent contractions...........
