muscle system, human

Introduction

  the muscles of the human body that work the skeletal system (skeletal system, human), that are under voluntary control, and that are concerned with movement, posture, and balance. Broadly considered, human muscle—like the muscles of all vertebrates—is often divided into striated muscle (or skeletal muscle), smooth muscle, and cardiac muscle. Smooth muscle is under involuntary control and is found in the walls of blood vessels and of structures such as the urinary bladder, the intestines, and the stomach. Cardiac muscle makes up the mass of the heart and is responsible for the rhythmic contractions of that vital pumping organ; it too is under involuntary control. With very few exceptions, the arrangement of smooth muscle and cardiac muscle in humans is identical to the arrangement found in other vertebrate animals. This article is concerned with those changes that have occurred in the skeletal muscle of human beings as a result of the long evolutionary process that involved the assumption of upright posture. Smooth muscle and cardiac muscle and the physiology of muscle contraction are treated at great length in the article muscle. For descriptions of disorders that affect the human muscle system, see muscle disease.

Evolutionary (evolution) context

 The arrangement of striated muscle in modern humans conforms to the basic plan seen in all pronograde quadrupedal vertebrates and mammals (that is, all vertebrates and mammals that assume a horizontal and four-legged posture). The primates (primate) (the order of mammals to which human beings belong) inherited the primitive quadrupedal stance and locomotion, but since their appearance in the Late Cretaceous Period some 65 million years ago, several groups have modified their locomotor system to concentrate on the use of the arms for propulsion through the trees. The most extreme expression of this skeletal adaptation in living primates is seen in the modern gibbon family. Their forelimbs are relatively elongated, they hold their trunk erect, and, for the short periods that they spend on the ground, they walk only on their hind limbs (in a bipedal fashion).

 Modern humans are most closely related to the living great apes: the chimpanzee, the gorilla, and the orangutan. The human's most distant relative in the group, the orangutan, has a locomotor system that is adapted for moving among the vertical tree trunks of the Asian rainforests. It grips these trunks equally well with both fore and hind limbs and was at one time aptly called quadrumanal, or “four-handed.”

   There is little direct fossil evidence about the common ancestor of modern humans, chimpanzees, and gorillas, so inferences about its habitat and locomotion must be made. The ancestor was most likely a relatively generalized tree-dwelling animal that could walk quadrupedally along branches as well as climb between them. From such an ancestor, two locomotor trends were apparently derived. In one, which led to the gorillas and the chimpanzees, the forelimbs became elongated, so, when these modern animals come to the ground, they support their trunks by placing the knuckles of their outstretched forelimbs on the ground. The second trend involved shortening the trunk, relocating the shoulder blades, and, most important, steadily increasing the emphasis on hind limb support and truncal erectness. In other words, this trend saw the achievement of an upright bipedal, or orthograde, posture instead of a quadrupedal, or pronograde, one. The upright posture probably was quite well established by 3 million to 3.5 million years ago, as evidenced both by the form of the limb bones and by the preserved footprints of early hominins found from this time.

Muscles of the lower limb

  The major muscular changes directly associated with the shift to bipedal locomotion are seen in the lower limb. The obvious skeletal changes are in the length of the hind limb, the development of the heel, and the change in the shape of the knee joint so that its surface is flat and not evenly rounded. The hind limbs of apes are relatively short for their body size, compared with modern human proportions.

      The changes that occured in the bones of the pelvis are not all directly related to the shift in locomotion, but they are a consequence of it. Bipedality, by freeing the hands from primary involvement with support and locomotion, enabled the development of manual dexterity and thus the manufacture and use of tools, which has been linked to the development in human ancestors of language and other intellectual capacities. The result is a substantially enlarged brain. Large brains clearly affect the form of the skull and thus the musculature of the head and neck. A larger brain also has a direct effect on the pelvis because of the need for a wide pelvic (pelvic girdle) inlet and outlet for the birth of relatively large-brained young. A larger pelvic cavity means that the hip joints have to be farther apart. Consequently, the hip joints are subjected to considerable forces when weight is taken on one leg, as it has to be in walking and running.

 To counteract this, the muscles (gluteus minimus and gluteus medius) that are used by the chimpanzee to push the leg back (hip extensors (extensor muscle)) have shifted in modern humans in relation to the hip joint, so that they now act as abductors (abductor muscle) to balance the trunk on the weight-bearing leg during walking. Part of a third climbing muscle (gluteus maximus) also assists in abduction as well as in maintaining the knee in extension during weight bearing. The gluteal muscles (gluteus muscle) are also responsible for much of the rotation of the hip that has to accompany walking. When the right leg is swung forward and the right foot touches the ground, the hip joint of the same side externally rotates, whereas that of the opposite side undergoes a similar amount of internal rotation. Both these movements are made possible by rearrangements of the muscles crossing the hip.

      The bones of the trunk and the lower limb are so arranged in modern humans that to stand upright requires a minimum of muscle activity. Some muscles, however, are essential to maintaining balance, and the extensors of the knee have been rearranged and realigned, as have the muscles of the calf.

 The foot is often but erroneously considered to be a poor relation of the hand. Although the toes in modern humans are normally incapable of useful independent movement, the flexor muscles of the big toe (hallux) are developed to provide the final push off in the walking cycle. Muscles of all three compartments of the modern human lower leg contribute to making the foot a stable platform, which nonetheless can adapt to walking over rough and sloping ground.

Muscles of the upper limb (arm)

  The human upper limb has retained an overall generalized structure, with its details adapted to upright existence. Among the primitive features that persist are the clavicle, or collarbone, which still functions as part of the shoulder; the ability to twist one of the forearm bones (the radius) around the other (the ulna) so that the palm is turned forward or backward, a process called pronation and supination; and a full complement of five digits in the hand.

 Pronation and supination of the forearm, which allows the palm of the hand to rotate 180 degrees, is not peculiar to humans. This movement depends upon the possession of both a small disk in the wrist joint and an arrangement of the muscles such that they can rotate the radius to and fro. Both the disk and the muscle arrangement are present in the great apes.

      In quadrupedal animals the thorax (chest) is suspended between the shoulder blades by a muscular hammock formed by the serratus anterior muscle. In upright sitting and standing, however, the shoulder girdle is suspended from the trunk. The scapula, or shoulder blade, floats over the thoracic surface by reason of the arrangement of the fibres of the serratus anterior muscle and the support against gravity that is provided by the trapezius (trapezius muscle), rhomboid, and levator (levator muscle) scapulae muscles. When the arms are required to push forward against an object at shoulder level, their action is reminiscent of quadrupedal support.

      The change in shape of the chest to emphasize breadth rather than depth altered the relation of muscles in the shoulder region, with an increase in size of the latissimus dorsi muscle and the pectoralis (pectoralis muscle) major muscle. The human pectoralis minor muscle has forsaken its attachment to the humerus, the long bone of the upper arm, and presumably derives some stability from attaching to the coracoid process, a projection from the scapula, instead of gliding over it.

 The hand of a chimpanzee is dexterous, but the proportions of the digits and the rearrangement and supplementation of muscles are the major reasons for the greater manipulative ability of the hand of a modern human. Most of these changes are concentrated on the thumb. For example, modern humans are the only living hominids to have a separate long thumb flexor, and the short muscle that swings the thumb over toward the palm is particularly well developed in humans. This contributes to the movement of opposition that is crucial for the so-called precision grip—i.e., the bringing together of the tips of the thumb and forefinger.

Muscles of the head and neck

  The muscle group of the head and neck is most directly influenced by the change to an upright posture. This group comprises the muscles of the back (nape) and side of the neck. Posture is not the only influence on these muscles, for the reduction in the size of the jaws in modern humans also contributes to the observed muscular differences. Generally, these involve the reduction in bulk of nuchal (nape) muscles. In the upright posture the head is more evenly balanced on the top of the vertebral column, so less muscle force is needed, whereas in a pronograde animal with large jaws the considerable torque developed at the base of the skull must be resisted by muscle force. The poise of the human head does pose other problems, and the detailed attachment and role of some neck muscles (e.g., sternocleidomastoid) are different in humans than in apes.

Muscles of the trunk

      The consequences of an upright posture for the support of both the thoracic and the abdominal viscera are profound, but the muscular modifications in the trunk are few. Whereas in pronograde animals the abdominal viscera are supported by the ventral abdominal wall, in the orthograde posture most support comes from the pelvis. This inevitably places greater strain on the passage through the muscles of the anterior abdominal wall, the inguinal canal, which marks the route taken by the descending testicle in the male. Weakness in the canal can result in herniation (hernia).

      Differences are also seen in the musculature (the levator ani) that supports the floor of the pelvis and that also controls the passage of feces. The loss of the tail in all apes has led to a major rearrangement of this muscle. There is more overlap and fusion between the various parts of the levator ani in modern humans than in apes, and the muscular sling that comprises the puborectalis in humans is more substantial than in apes.

      The muscular compression of the abdomen and the thorax that accompanies upright posture aids the vertebral column in supporting the body and in providing a firm base for upper-limb action. Anteroposterior (fore-and-aft) stability of the trunk is achieved by balancing the flexing action of gravity against back muscles that act to extend the spine. Lateral stability is enhanced by the augmented leverage provided to the spinal muscles by the broadening of the chest.

Bernard Wood Robin Huw Crompton

Additional Reading

Joseph E. Muscolino, The Muscular System Manual: The Skeletal Muscles of the Human Body, 2nd ed. (2005), is a full-colour atlas of the human muscle system. Benno M. Nigg and Walter Herzog (eds.), Biomechanics of the Musculo-Skeletal System, 3rd ed. (2007), is a textbook on the mechanics of the human body and its movements, intended for use by students in a range of disciplines, from physics to sports medicine. Steven Vogel, Prime Mover: A Natural History of Muscle (2001), is an illustrated survey of the evolution of animal and human musculature, intended to educate as well as entertain.

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