Involuntary muscle

This MedLibrary.org supplementary page on Involuntary muscle is provided directly from the open source Wikipedia as a service to our readers. Please see the note below on authorship of this content, as well as the Wikipedia usage guidelines. To search for other content from our encyclopedia supplement, please use the form below:

Involuntary muscles are smooth, uni nucleated, non-branching muscles that are not directly controllable at will. These muscles are not as free as the voluntary muscles such as those in the arms, legs, fingers, toes etc.

Cardiac muscle: a type of striated muscle found exclusively in the heart, can be called an involuntary muscle, although it may be classified separately due to its structural differences. It is controlled by nerve impulses produced by a natural pacemaker called the sinoatrial node, the rate of which is controlled by the autonomic nervous system.

Smooth muscles, a type of non-striated muscle, include the radially arranged iris muscles, the digestive system, reproductive system, major blood vessels, the skin, and internal organs. These are also controlled by the autonomic nervous system.

Involuntary muscles are muscles controlled only by the central nervous system, and (in some cases) by hormones. These cannot be controlled consciously. The pupils of the eye are an example of this as they contract quickly when the eye is exposed to bright light.

Skeletal muscle is under conscious control and is, therefore, voluntary muscle.



Wikipedia content modification information:

  • This page was last modified on 4 October 2008, at 00:47.

Wikipedia Authorship and Review

Wikipedia content provided here is not reviewed directly by MedLibrary.org. Wikipedia content is authored by an open community of volunteers and is not produced by or in any way affiliated with MedLibrary.org.

Wikipedia Usage Guidelines

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article on "Involuntary muscle".

The URL for this specific entry is:

All Wikipedia text is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License. (See Copyrights for details). Wikipedia® is a registered trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc.