Muscular system

Your Body Has Over 600 Muscles That Make Up 40% of Your Body Weight. Without Muscles, You’d Be Just a Pile of Bones.

You have three types of muscle:

  • SKELETAL MUSCLES

    Also called striated muscles, skeletal muscles are responsible for skeletal movements. Skeletal muscles are controlled by conscious thought.

  • SMOOTH MUSCLES

    These muscles typically form the inside of blood vessels and organs, such as the stomach, bladder, and uterus. They are even found behind the eyes! Smooth muscles are automatic and not controlled consciously.

  • CARDIAC MUSCLES

    Found only in the heart, cardiac muscles are a combination of striated and smooth muscles. The muscles in the heart contract to pump blood out then relax to allow blood back in after circulating around the body.

Did you know icon

DID YOU KNOW? Cardiac muscle never gets tired. It even goes as far as using the “waste” product of skeletal muscle, lactate, as fuel.