The sun has set

Great day,
M

Some photos I took

Good day,
M

Nike Running

I found this Nike Running application to measure distance, speed and time. Above are my activities for two weeks -- jogging on the road and the trail/park. I am limping from the 5.25 mi jog I did yesterday, but hey, it's a progress...

-M

Into the wilderness

This little guy was looking at me for such a long time! I'm not sure what it is, but s/he ran away when I ran away.

-M

Word

Isaiah 44:8 Do not tremble and do not be afraid; Have I not long since announced it to you and declared it? And you are My witnesses Is there any God besides Me, Or is there any other Rock? I know of none.

Psalms 59:2 From the end of the earth I call to You when my heart is faint; Lead me to the rock that is higher than I.

Psalms 31:1-3 In You, O LORD, I have taken refuge; Let me never be ashamed; In Your righteousness deliver me. Incline Your ear to me, rescue me quickly; a rock of strength, A stronghold to save me. For You are my rock and my fortress; For Your name's sake You will lead me and guide me.

Good day,                                    

M

Quick post: Neurolemmocytes or Schwann cells

Neurolemmocytes or as I like to call them, Schwann cells, are only present in the Peripheral Nervous System (ganglia, spinal nerves and cranial nerves) and are similar to Oligodendocytes in the Central Nervous System (brain and spinal cord), that being, they also wrap around axons to contain the nerve impulses in the axon itself. They are made out of phospholipids which makes them great insulators and terrible electrical conductors. What sets them apart from the Oligodendrocytes besides the fact that they are only in the PNS is that they have a different wrapping technique. However, both Oligodendrocytes and Schwann cells help nerve impulses to conduct faster in the axon.

Whenever I say Schwann, I always remember this Swan Apple I made. Take a look! Of course I ate it after cutting it.

Have a great day,

M

GUIDELINES: More origin, insertion and actions!

Remember TACTLUVS?

1. Temporomandibular joint
2. Atlanto-occipital joint
3. Cervical intervertebral joint
4. Thoracic  intervertebral joint
5. Lumbar intervertebral joint
6. Vetebrocostal and Sternocostal joints

Well, here are some more general guidelines to consider before determining actions on joints:

a. FLEX = Muscle is on the anterior side, but the knees (You rebellious knees!)

b. EXTEND = Muscle is on the posterior side, but the knees

c. DORSIFLEX = Talocrural muscle only on the anterior/superior side.

How I remember this is by dorsiflexing my ankle muscles. When I dorsiflex my ankles, I can feel the force on the anterior side moreso than on the posterior side.

d. PLANTARFLEX = Talocrural muscle only on posterior/inferior side

e. EVERT = Talonavicular only, on lateral side

f. INVERT = Talonavicular  only, on medial side

When I invert, I can feel the force on the medial side than on the lateral side of my talonavicular.

g. ADDUCT = medial side

How I remember this is I picture a duck on medial side of the body.

geekytattoos.com

A duck on the medial side! Get it? lol

h. ABDUCT = lateral side

Here are some great examples

1. Vastus Lateralis extends knee joint

2. Rectus Femoris flexes  hip joint, but extends knee joint (remember general guidelines above!)

3. Semimembranosus extends thigh and flexes leg

4. Gracilis flexes hip joint

5. Iliacus and Psoas major (Iliopsoas) flexes thigh

6. Triceps brachii extends elbow joint

7. Brachialis flexes forearm

8. Palmaris longus flexes wrist joint

9. Extensor Digitorum extends wrist and metacarpophalangeal joints

Here are some more examples

1. Biceps femoris flexes leg

2. Gastrocnemius plantarflexes to foot

3. Fibularis longus plantarflexes ankles and everts talonavicular

4. Soleus plantar flexes foot

5. Tibialis anterior dorsiflexes and inverts foot


Great!

someecards.com

LOOK! MORE EXAMPLES!

1. Posterior sacrum to lesser trochanter = extension of hip

2. Ischial tuberosity to linea aspera = extension of hip

3. Linea aspera to medial malleolus = Flexion of knee (REMEMBER! Knees are rebels and they do not follow the rules!) 

4. Humeral epicondyles  to radial tuberosity =  Flexion of elbow

5. Styloid process of radius to metacarpal = Abduction of wrist

That's it. You got it.


Have a great day,

M

Muscle attachments, movements and actions

Origin is the point of attachment that does not move, while the insertion is the point of attachment that moves.

When the insertion is pulled towards the origin, the muscle shortens.

Action is the act of shortening the muscles.

An action name has two parts:
a. Action - for example, flexion, extension, etc.
b. Joint - for example, elbow, knees, etc.

Rules to Determine Actions in the Muscles.

a. Muscle will move the joint it crosses
b. Muscles pull towards the origin, not push.
c. Direction of the joint = direction of movement. For example, the movement of anterior elbow will cause flexion while the movement of the hip will result in lateral hip movements such as abduction.
d. If movement is at an angle, will result in a multiplanar movement.

Ask yourself these questions:

a. Where is the origin?
b. How about the insertion?
c. Imagine the two ends.
d. What kind of movement will happen between those two ends?

In application, you can remember this by thinking of crunches.


Wait, not that kind of crunch (the chocolate bar).... the kind that we all just love to do on our spare time:



sixpackabsguide.com

The origin of the rectus abdominis also known as the abs is the medial pubis.  The insertion is in the medial ribs and the xiphoid process. Think, what joint will move when flexion happens in this region?

Action, therefore, will be called lumbar intervertebral flexion.


Naming skeletal muscles can vary depending on

a. Appearance
b. Location
c. Function
d. Origin and insertion
e. Relative size
f. Number of origins
g. Fiber orientation


Starting with...

Appearance.

a. Serrate - A good  way I remember this is by the serratus anterior. To me, it looks sort of like chicken feathers.... or the serrated ends of a leaf?
b. Semi - partly
c. Detloid - triangular in shape
d. Rhomboid - rhombus in shape. Well, if you ask me, I think the rhomboid major and minor doesn't really look rhomboid in shape...
e. Trapezius

Size.

a. Maximus - the LARGEST
b. Medius - medium
c. Minimus - smallest
d. Major - larger
e. Minor - smaller
f. Longus - LONGER
g. Brevis - shorter

Position.

a. lateral/medial
b. posterior/anterior
c. inferior/superior
d. external/internal

Fiber Orientation.

a. rectus - straight
b. oblique - angled (remember the horse's obliques?)
c. transversus - horizontal
d. orbicularis - round/circular

Numbers - Bi/tri/quadri

Actions - Extensor, flexor, adductor, pronator, levator (elevation), depressor, erector (holds  up)

Drawing Info from Names.

Triceps brachii

Tri - three, ceps - heads, brachii - upper arm

Some joint options you have to remember include:

a. Temporomandibular joint
b. Atlanto-occipital joint
c. Cervical intervertebral joint
d. Thoracic intervertebral joint
e. LUmbar intervertebral joint
f. Vertebrocostal and Sternocostal joint

How I remember this is by the word TACTLUVS. I love it when people are tactful, hence, TACTLUVS. I know, corny, but it works! At least for me.

Some actions of the Skeletal Muscles include:

a. Agonist - or the prime mover, or the muscle that initiates the movement.
b. Antagonist - or the villain! It works against the agonist.
c. Synergist - assists the agonist. In a movie, this is usually the funny best friend.

    Neutralizer - neutralizes the muscle by removing excess actions (kind of like a buffer in Chemistry!)

    Fixator - fixes the origin by stabilization

Here are some exercise related information to remember:

a. Muscle atrophy - is the decrease of size of muscle as a result of lack of exercise. This causes the myofibrils to disassemble.

b. Muscle hypertrophy - the increase of size of muscle as a result of exercise. The cells do not increase, but the amount of protein, mitochondria, ATP, myofibrils and myofilaments increase. This is a non - pathogenic increase.

c. Muscle dystrophy - a pathogenic, diseased skeletal muscle caused by degeneration. A good example would be a disease called the Duchenne muscular dystrophy. This is a sex linked disease from the recessive allele, most commonly seen in males. This gene codes for dystrophin.

d. Strains - stretch/tear 

e. Charley Horse - pain and stiffness at a local area after a contusion.

Quick Factoid:  In adult skeletal muscle tissue, there are embryonic like cells that are called satellite cells.

STUDY BREAK

No wonder why people say, "I love you will all my butt". It's because it's the largest muscle there is!

Have a great day,

M



Kinds of muscle tissues

Some features of the muscle tissues include

1. Excitability - is the ability for muscle tissues to transmit electrical changes in muscles fibers to allow contraction.

2. Contractility - is the ability for the muscle fibers to shorten to allow contraction

3. Elasticity - is the ability of the muscle fibers to go back to its original length once released from the muscle contraction

4. Extensibility - is the ability for the muscle fiber to stretch

I like to remember this as E3C. E cubed C. Easy, EC... get it? Ha - ha, very funny.

There are three kinds of muscle tissues.

a. Skeletal
b. Cardiac
c. Smooth

Let's start with Skeletal muscle tissue...

Skeletal.

This is my illustration.

But this is what it looks like in real life....

biologyonlineus.com



stevegalik.org



Features of Skeletal Muscle tissue include rod, long shaped muscle fibers, striations (stripes), many nuclei, voluntary control and no mitosis in adults. 

Some functions are for movements, posture to help resist  gravity, to regulate our temperature, to store materials and for support, lining muscles in skeleton.

Cardiac.

Getting tired of my sucky illustrations yet?  The highlights are the parts you have to know!





But they look this this in real life...





medicalpicturesinfo.com



They are only seen in the walls of the heart, they are striated like the skeletal muscles, but they only have one or two nuclei per cell. They are branched in shape, have intercalated disks and are involuntary. No mitosis allowed in adult cardiac muscles. What sets them apart is the absence of perimysium and epimysium.

It's main function is to help the transportation of blood throughout the entire body.

Smooth Muscle tissue.

This is what they look like in real life...



siumed.edu

The Smooth muscle tissues are typically seen in visceral organs such as the stomach and the lining of blood vessels. They have no striations, that is probably why they are called "smooth" muscle tissue. They have fusiformed shape cells that has a single nuclei inside. What they are needed to function is to help transport materials, for example, food into the tubes of the intestine. They are also involuntary. What sets them apart besides the lack of striations is their ability to divide through mitosis in adults. A good way to remember is to think of your digestive track. If you look at a colonoscopy picture, the lining looks very smooth.



avrupatimes.com

Also think of how you cannot voluntarily control its contractions, how acidic the stomach is inside  and thus, the high rate of mitosis to replace the cells rapidly.

Now, I don't know about you, but I find the whole skeletal muscle organization kind of confusing. Bundles after bundles after bundles after bundles... it does not end, so I just list it down to keep it simple.

Here is a picture of a neuromuscular junction/skeletal muscle fiber.

Quick factoid: Skeletal muscle fibers get new nuclei by the fusion of embryonic myoblasts.


From superficial to deep:

a. Tendon - Attached muscle to a bone

b. EPIMYSIUM - Dense Irregular Connective tissue

c. Muscle - an organ

d. PERIMYSIUM - Dense Irregular Connective tissue

e. Fascicle - Bundles of muscle fibers

f. ENDOMYSIUM - Areolar Connective tissue

g. Myofibers - wrapped by Sarcolemma (cell membrane) with sarcoplasm (similar to a cytoplasm).  Muscle fibers are individual skeletal muscle cells.

h. Myofibril - proteins rods that grabs, pulls and releases. Has the ability to shorten in the contraction of muscles.

i. Myofilament - protein units

j. Myosin and Actin - principle proteins of muscle contraction.

The Actin filaments are thin filaments. I remember this because they kind of rhyme. Actin for thin. They are made up of tropomyosin and troponin. Tropomyosin covers the binding sites while Troponin binds to calcium to allow contraction.

The Myosin filaments are thick filaments. A good way to remember is to think of the SIN gluttony (from myoSIN). When we indulge in gluttony, we become thick in stature. Sounds silly, but it works for me!  These thick filaments consists of a tail and a head that is essential for the formation of crossbridges during muscle contraction.



partyofsin.com

The Titin are for extensibility, elasticity and for attachment to Z discs.

Sarcomere.

A sarcomere is a functional contractile unit in a skeletal muscle fiber.

This is what they look like in an artificial sarcomere model:



http://www.onlinesciencemall.com

The blue lines are the myosin (thick), and the red lines are the actin (thin).

Have a great day,

M

"Your joints are really articulate!"

Wonk wonk wonkkkk.

Articulations is just another word for a bone that connects with another bone. With articulations, the movement is inversely proportional with stability. Hence, the higher the mobility, the lower the stability and vice versa.

From descending order of mobility:
a. Glenohumeral joint (shoulder)
b. Hip joint
c. Humeroulnar joint (elbow)
d. Intervertebral joint
e. Sutures

The joints can be differentiated based on Structure or Function. Structure is based on what type of connective tissue the joint is made up of while Function is just another word for movement or degree of mobility.

Functions.

There are three types of functions (movements):
a. Synarthrosis - no movement
b. Amphiarthrosis - slight movement
c. Diarthrosis - move all you want

A good way I remember this is through the word SAD.

Structures.

There are three types of structures (what type of connective tissue):
a. Fibrous - dense regular connective tissue
b. Cartilaginous - cartilage is..... cartilage.
c. Synovial - synovial fluid, joint capsule and ligaments for stabilization

Fibrous.

a. Gomphosis - in the mandible and maxilla, synarthrosis. A good way to remember is by the word "Gom" -- it sounds just like where it is, in the gums!

b. Sutures - in the cranial skeleton, synarthrosis. If you remember from the last post, it is only with adults that the sutures are synarthrosis. They used to be the fontanelles.

c. Syndesmosis - also known as the interosseous membrane between the radius and the ulna in the middle and distally, amphiarthrosis.

Cartilaginous.

a. Synchondroses - Look at the word "chondroses", also synonymous to "chondrocytes" found in cartilage, specifically, hyaline cartilage. These are synarthrosis and are found in the epiphyseal plate of growing children and in costochondral joints of the ribs.

b. Symphyses - Guess where? In the pubic symphysis! What's interesting about them is that the body releases a hormone for the expansion of the pelvis when giving birth. Symphyses are also found in the intervertebral disc of the vertebrae and are made up of fibrocartilage as a shock absorber. They are amphiarthrosis.

Synovial.

 

 

 

Starting from the outermost layer of the synovial joint is the fibrous layer. The fibrous layer is made up of dense connective tissue layer. The inner layer is called the synovial membrane that secretes the synovial fluid filling the synovial cavity to supply nourishment and to absorb shock. The bones are capped by articular cartilages, particularly by hyaline cartilage.

 

Nerves are also present in the synovial joint to allow stimulus for pain. Minimal blood vessels are present. This is why joints takes time to heal!

 

Seen above are ligaments present in and around the synovial joint. The rope like drawings are the ligaments that connect a bone to another bone. The capsular ligament is around the joint capsule, the intracapsular joint are inside the capsule and the extracapsular joint are outside the joint capsule.

 

Types of Synovial Joints.

 

 

Movements of bones include uniaxial (one plane), biaxial (two planes) and multiaxial (more than two planes).

From the lowest mobility to the highest mobility, silly as it sounds, I like to remember the sentence "Peter Pan Hugged Some Cute Bear" to remember the hierarchy.

http://images.mocpages.com/user_images/48287/1366754888m_SPLASH.jpg


REMEMBER! "Peter Pan Hugged Some Cute Bear"

But remember, you gotta remember what the acronym stands for or you'll fail Anatomy. Scary!

Ready? Let's get to the meat!

a. Planar (gliding) - is uniaxial, the least movable of all, are flat in shape and can only move from side to side. Examples include intercarpal joints, intertarsal joints, acromioclavicular joint and vertebrocostal joints.

b. Pivot - is also uniaxial, consists of a peg and a hole with ligament and a bone. Moves in a transverse plane. Some examples are the atlas, axis and proximal radioulnar joint. How I remember this is by picturing a pivotal handle on a radio.

engineersgarage.com

c. Hinge - is also uniaxial, consist of a convex and a concave shape. Moves in a sagittal plane. An example is the humero-ulnar joint also known as the elbow.

d. Saddle - is biaxial, consists of a convex and a concave shape. Movements are in frontal and oblique planes. How I remember this is I picture a horse's oblique muscles. Saddle and horses and oblique planes.... 

http://classconnection.s3.amazonaws.com/583/flashcards/651583/jpg/abdominalobliques1328643963804.jpg

 

An example of a Saddle joint would be the carpometacarpal joint and the trapeziometacarpal, or a fancy way of saying thumb. If you ever want to impress somebody with a fancy word for saying the thumb joint.....

e. Condyle - is also biaxial, consists of a concave and a convex, oval/egg shaped, moves in frontal and sagittal planes. A great example of the condyle is the metacarpophalangeal joint.

f. Bear.... or oops... the Ball and Socket (don't do that on the exam ok) -  is triaxial, is the most movable of all, consists of a ball shape and a cup like shaped bone. The glenohumeral or the shoulder joint is a great example of the Ball and Socket joint.

Now on to the injuries. Ouch! Most injuries are seen in the shoulder and knee joint because they are the most mobile joints. Unfortunately, they sacrifice stability in exchange for their mobility. It's like a give and take relationship.

Dislocation is what it sounds like, the bones are completely knocked out of alignment.
Subluxation is partial dislocation. Subluxation is a term mostly used for the vertebrae.

Sprains are caused by stretching or tearing of the ligaments. The first degree is by stretching only. The second degree is partial stretching and partial tearing. The third degree is by tearing and only tearing.

Sprains take a while to heal because they are not vascularized like bones are.

These sprains can be classified as either a high ankle sprain or a low ankle sprain.

The high ankle sprain is the result of a divorce between the married tibia and fibula. They got divorced because they were always high, it sprained their relationship... wonk wonk wonk.  Man, I am such a dork. This is also known as the syndesmotic sprain, usually a result of overinversion which causes bruising and swelling.

The low ankle sprain, sprains the talocrural (ankle) joint and also causes bruising and swelling.

Arthritis.

This is my simple mathematical equation that I invented.

Arthritis = inflammation

Pretty simple, right?

There are several types you have to remember --  osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis and gout.

Osteoarthritis is the cause of wear and tear of the articulating cartilage.

Rheumatoid arthritis is an autoimmune disease where the body is attacking its own joint tissues.

Gout  is seen in patients with kidney issues as a result of the deposition of uric acid where the body is unable to get rid of urea. These build up crystals that causes rubbing and tearing.

Now it's just pure memorization time

Sagittal plane - flexion, extension, hyperextension, dorsiflexion and plantarflexion

Frontal plane - Abduction, Adduction, Lateral flexion

Transverse plane - Medial and lateral rotation, rotation right and left, supination and pronation (shout out to runners/joggers out there...  I used to jog a lot until I gained 1000 pounds. That was called a hyperbole)

Special movements (aplanar or multiplanar) - inversion, eversion, protraction, retraction, elevation, depression and circumduction.

a. Shoulder (glenohumeral) - ball and socket; flexion, extension, hyperextension, abduction, adduction, medial and lateral rotation and circumduction

b. Elbow (humeroulnar) - hinge; Easy! Just plain ol' flexion and extension!

c. Wrist (radiocarpal) -saddle; flexion, extension, abduction, adduction and circumduction.

d. Knuckles (metacarpophalangeal) - condylar; same as the wrist.

e. Finger and toes (interphalangeal) - hinge; flexion and extension

f. Hip - Lateral flexion, flexion, extension, abduction, adduction, medial rotation, lateral rotation and circumduction

g. Knee - hinge; flexion, extension, medial and lateral rotation

h. Ankle (talocrural) - hinge; dorsiflexion and plantarflexion

i. Intertarsal (talonavicular) - Inversion and eversion

j. Atlanto occipital - condyle; flexion and extension

k. Atlanto axial - head rotation


The Shoulder.

These are ligaments you have to remember. Look at my sucky illustration below.

The Knee.

Again with the sucky illustrations!

Have a great day,

M