CHAPTER 37 INTRODUCTION
37-1
CORE CONCEPTS
37.1 Muscles are biological motors composed of actin and myosin that generate force and produce movement for body support, locomotion, and control of the body’s internal physiological functions.
37.2 Muscle force depends on muscle size, degree of actin–myosin overlap, contractile velocity, and stimulation rate.
37.3 Hydrostatic skeletons, exoskeletons, or endoskeletons provide animals with mechanical support and protection.
37.4 Vertebrate endoskeletons allow for growth and repair and transmit muscle forces across joints.
The ability to move is a defining feature of animal life, allowing animals to explore new environments and avoid inhospitable ones, escape predators, mate, feed, and play. An animal’s motor and nervous systems (Chapters 35 and 36) work together to enable it to sense and respond to its environment. How are movements produced, and how are they controlled? What determines an athlete’s performance? What are the mechanical requirements for movement and support? This chapter explores the organization and function of the muscles and skeletons that provide mechanical support and power the movements of larger multicellular animals (Fig. 37.1).
