Muscle tissue is composed of elongated cells that are capable of shortening when stimulated. A muscle cell is essentially a device for converting the chemical energy of ATP into the mechanical energy of contraction. This chapter discusses contraction at the cellular and molecular level and explains the basis of such aspects of performance as warm-up, strength, endurance, and fatigue.

The three types of muscle tissue–skeletal, cardiac, and smooth–were described and compared in chapter 6. This chapter is concerned primarily with the microscopic anatomy and physiology of skeletal muscle. Smooth muscle is discussed in depth in the last section of this chapter and cardiac muscle in chapter 19. The functions of muscle were listed in the preceding chapter.

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