ABSTRACT
Introduction Skeletal muscle is a distinctive and specialized organ that accounts for around half of the body mass of most humans, and indeed mammals, regardless of size. The gross anatomical features of the muscle groups and muscles of the body were introduced in Chapter 2, and as we saw, skeletal muscles differ in their visual appearance. In this chapter we will explore the different organizational levels – the basic physiology of skeletal muscle structure, its excitation and contraction, the characteristics of skeletal muscle, and look at molecular, cellular, metabolic and mechanical aspects of skeletal muscle function.
