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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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