Assoc. Prof. Ivan Poliaček, poliacek(at)jfmed.uniba.sk

The aims of the lecture

Basic muscle properties,.Sceletal, cardiac, smooth muscles and the differences. Basic muscle and muscle cell structure (myofibril, sarcomere, actin, myosin...). Motor unit, neuro-muscular junction, acetylcholine, end-plate potential. T tubules, sarcoplasmic reticulum, muscle fiber action potential. Muscle contraction and its control (tropomyosin), role of Ca ions and ATP. Single muscle twitch, superposition, summation, tetanus (unfused, fused), rigor mortis. Single unit and multiunit smooth muscle, gap junction, syncytium. Cardiac muscle structure, intercalated discs, Ca induced Ca release. Cardiac muscle action potential, the duration of action potential, summation of contraction.

Depolarization, repolarization, hyperpolarization, action potential – the shape, mechanisms, refractory periods, propagation of action potential (continual spreading, saltatory conduction), electrical stimulation – rheobase, chronaxy, graded potential, synapse, neurotransmitter, mechanisms of transmission receptors (ionotropic vs. metabotropic), EPSP, IPSP, summation (temporal, spatial), convergence, divergence.