Class 11 Biology

Locomotion Movement

TYPES OF MOVEMENT

Cells of the human body exhibit three main types of movements, namely, amoeboid, ciliary and muscular.

Amoeboid Movement

Some specialised cells in our body exhibit amoeboid movement, e.g. macrophages and leucocytes. Amoeboid movement is facilitated by pseudopodia formed by the streaming of protoplasm (as in Amoeba). Cytoskeletal elements are also involved in amoeboid movement.

Ciliary Movement

Ciliary movement occurs in most of our internal tubular organs which are lined by ciliated epithelium. The coordinated movements of cilia in the trachea help us in removing dust particles and some of the foreign substances inhaled along with the atmospheric air. Passage of ova through the female reproductive tract is also facilitated by the ciliary movement.

Muscular Movement

Movement of our limbs, jaws, tongue, etc, requires muscular movement. The contractile property of muscles is effectively used for locomotion and other movements by human beings and majority of multicellular organisms. Locomotion requires a perfect coordinated activity of muscular, skeletal and neural systems.

MUSCLE

Muscle is a specialised tissue of mesodermal origin. About 40-50 per cent of the body weight of a human adult is contributed by muscles. They have special properties like excitability, contractility, extensibility and elasticity. Muscles have been classified using different criteria, namely location, appearance and nature of regulation of their activities. Based on their location, three types of muscles are identified:

  1. Skeletal
  2. Visceral
  3. Cardiac

Skeletal Muscles

Skeletal muscles are closely associated with the skeletal components of the body. They have a striped appearance under the microscope and hence are called striated muscles. As their activities are under the voluntary control of the nervous system, they are also known as voluntary muscles. They are primarily involved in locomotory actions and changes of body postures.

muscle fibre

Visceral Muscles

Visceral muscles are located in the inner walls of hollow visceral organs of the body like the alimentary canal, reproductive tract, etc. They do not exhibit striation and are smooth in appearance. Hence, they are called smooth muscles (nonstriated muscle). Their activities are not under the voluntary control of the nervous system and are therefore known as involuntary muscles. They assist, for example, in the transportation of food through the digestive tract and gametes through the genital tract.

Cardiac Muscles

As the name suggests, Cardiac muscles are the muscles of heart. Many cardiac muscle cells assemble in a branching pattern to form a cardiac muscle. Based on appearance, cardiac muscles are striated. They are involuntary in nature as the nervous system does not control their activities directly.

Structure of Skeletal Muscle:

a myofibril actin and myosin filaments