Page:Structure and functions of the body; a hand-book of anatomy and physiology for nurses and others desiring a practical knowledge of the subject (IA structurefunctio00fiskrich).pdf/30

 Finally, where less distance has to be covered but greater power is required, tendons are used, as in this case the contraction is powerful but does not carry the part far.

In performing the mechanical work of the body the muscles are aided by the fact that the bones, to which they are largely attached, are set together loosely and form a set of levers, on which the muscles act to perform certain definite acts. All three classes of levers occur: 1. where the fulcrum is between the weight and the power, as in the case of the head, which is balanced by the muscles of the neck on the vertebræ; 2. where the weight is between the fulcrum and the power, as when a person raises himself upon his toes; and 3. where the power is between the fulcrum and the weight, as when the biceps is used to raise a weight held in the hand. The erect position of the body is difficult to maintain because the center of gravity is high up, and it is by the contraction of many muscles in the legs, thighs, back, abdomen, and neck that the body is balanced upright upon the feet.

Physiology of Muscle.—Irritability or sensitiveness to stimulation and contractility or the power to contract are the two most important functions of muscle. Contraction occurs in response to nervous energy brought by the nerves, a nerve filament going to each muscle fiber, into which it plunges, its substance being lost and its sheath becoming continuous with that of the muscle fiber. Any irritant, as heat, electricity, etc., when applied to the nerve, causes the muscle to contract. Moreover, muscle has an irritability of its own and can contract independently of the nervous system. In contracting it shortens and thickens, bringing the two ends closer together, and becomes firm and rigid. The amount of contraction depends upon the strength of the stimulus and the irritability of the muscle. The minimal stimulus is the least stimulus that will cause a contraction and the maximal is one that will cause the great