| cardiac muscle | <anatomy> Tissue specialised for contraction. See twitch muscle, catch muscle: Cardiac muscle (heart muscle) is a striated but involuntary muscle responsible for the pumping activity of the vertebrate heart. The individual muscle cells are joined through a junctional complex known as the intercalated disc and are not fused together into multinucleate structures as they are in skeletal muscle. Skeletal muscle is a rather non-specific term usually applied to the striated muscle of vertebrates that is under voluntary control. The muscle fibres are syncytial and contain myofibrils, tandem arrays of sarcomeres. Smooth muscle is muscle tissue in vertebrates made up from long tapering cells that may be anything from 20-500m long. Smooth muscle is generally involuntary and differs from striated muscle in the much higher actin/myosin ratio, the absence of conspicuous sarcomeres and the ability to contract to a much smaller fraction of its resting length. Smooth muscle cells are found particularly in blood vessel walls, surrounding the intestine (especially the gizzard in birds) and in the uterus. The contractile system and its control resemble those of motile tissue cells (for example fibroblasts, leucocytes) and antibodies against smooth muscle myosin will cross react with myosin from tissue cells, whereas antibodies against skeletal muscle myosin will not. See: dense bodies. (18 Nov 1997) |
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| cardiac muscle tissue | See: cardiac muscle. (05 Mar 2000) |
| cardiac muscle wrap | An operation that uses stimulated latissimus dorsi muscle (skeletal muscle ventricle) to assist cardiac function. The latissimus dorsi muscle is mobilised from the chest wall and moved into the thorax through the bed of the resected 2nd or 3rd rib. The muscle is then wrapped around the left and right ventricles and stimulated to contract during cardiac systole by means of an implanted burst-stimulator. (12 Dec 1998) |
| radial flexor muscle of wrist | <anatomy, muscle> Origin, common flexor origin of the medial condyle of humerus; insertion, anterior surface of the base of the second and most often sending a slip to that of the third metacarpal bone; action, flexes and abducts wrist radialward; nerve supply, median; its tendon travels in its own canal roofed by a layer of the transverse carpal ligament. Synonym: musculus flexor carpi radialis, radial flexor muscle of wrist. (05 Mar 2000) |
| Valsalva's muscle | <anatomy> A band of vertical muscular fibres on the outer surface of the tragus of the ear. Synonym: musculus tragicus, muscle of tragus, Valsalva's muscle. (05 Mar 2000) |
| palatoglossus muscle | <anatomy> Forms anterior pillar of tonsillar fossa; origin, oral surface of soft palate; insertion, side of tongue; action, raises back of tongue and narrows fauces; nerve supply, pharyngeal plexus (cranial root of accessory nerve). Synonym: musculus palatoglossus, glossopalatinus, musculus glossopalatinus, palatoglossus. (05 Mar 2000) |
| palatopharyngeal muscle | <anatomy, muscle> Origin, soft palate; forms the posterior pillar of the fauces or tonsillar fossa; insertion, posterior border of thyroid cartilage and aponeurosis of pharynx; action, narrows fauces, depresses soft palate, elevates pharynx and larynx; nerve supply, pharyngeal plexus (cranial root of accessory nerve). Synonym: musculus palatopharyngeus, musculus pharyngopalatinus, palatopharyngeal muscle, palatopharyngeus, pharyngopalatinus, pharyngostaphylinus. (05 Mar 2000) |
| palatouvularis muscle | <anatomy, muscle> Origin, posterior nasal spine; insertion, forms chief bulk of the uvula; action, raises the uvula; nerve supply, pharyngeal plexus. Synonym: musculus uvulae, muscle of uvula, musculus azygos uvulae, palatouvularis muscle, uvularis. (05 Mar 2000) |
| palmar interosseous muscle | <anatomy> Three muscles in the hand; origin, first: ulnar side of second metacarpal; second and third: radial sides of fourth and fifth metacarpals; insertion, first: into ulnar side of index; second and third: into radial sides of ring and little fingers; action, adducts fingers toward axis of middle finger; nerve supply, ulnar. See: flexor pollicis brevis muscle. Synonym: musculus interosseus palmaris, musculus interosseus volaris. (05 Mar 2000) |
| Gantzer's muscle | <anatomy> An accessory muscle extending from the superficial flexor of the digits to the deep flexor of the digits. (05 Mar 2000) |
| palpebral part of orbicularis oculi muscle | palpebral part of orbicularis oculi muscle |
| panniculus carnosus muscle | <anatomy> A sheet of muscle, lying beneath the skin, by which the skin can be made to shiver; it is especially well developed in the horse, in man, platysma. (05 Mar 2000) |
| papillary muscle | <anatomy> Small muscles within the heart which anchor the heart valves. (12 Dec 1998) |
| papillary muscle dysfunction | Impaired function of a papillary muscle, usually due to ischemia or infarction, with resulting incompetence of the mitral valve. Synonym: papillary muscle syndrome. (05 Mar 2000) |
| papillary muscle syndrome | Impaired function of a papillary muscle, usually due to ischemia or infarction, with resulting incompetence of the mitral valve. Synonym: papillary muscle syndrome. (05 Mar 2000) |