Skip to main content
Back

ANP Study Guide: Muscle and Nervous System Review

NotesPracticeVideo lessons

Study Guide - Smart Notes

Tailored notes based on your materials, expanded with key definitions, examples, and context.

Q1. What are the three types of muscle tissue? How do you differentiate between the three types of muscle? Which one is voluntary/involuntary?

Background

Topic: Muscle Tissue Types

This question tests your understanding of the classification of muscle tissues, their distinguishing features, and their control mechanisms (voluntary vs. involuntary).

Key Terms:

  • Skeletal muscle

  • Cardiac muscle

  • Smooth muscle

  • Voluntary vs. Involuntary control

Step-by-Step Guidance

  1. List the three types of muscle tissue found in the human body.

  2. For each type, describe its location (e.g., attached to bones, heart, walls of hollow organs).

  3. Identify key structural differences (e.g., striations, cell shape, nuclei number, presence of intercalated discs).

  4. Determine which muscle types are under voluntary control and which are involuntary.

  5. Summarize how you can distinguish each type based on structure and function.

Try solving on your own before revealing the answer!

Q2. Explain the roles calcium plays in muscle contraction and neurotransmission.

Background

Topic: Calcium in Physiology

This question examines your understanding of the importance of calcium ions in both muscle contraction and the process of neurotransmitter release at synapses.

Key Terms:

  • Calcium ions (Ca2+)

  • Muscle contraction

  • Neurotransmission

  • Sarcomere, synaptic vesicle, troponin, exocytosis

Step-by-Step Guidance

  1. Describe the role of calcium in initiating muscle contraction (e.g., binding to troponin, exposing binding sites on actin).

  2. Explain how calcium is released from the sarcoplasmic reticulum in response to an action potential.

  3. Discuss the role of calcium in neurotransmitter release at the synaptic terminal (e.g., triggering vesicle fusion).

  4. Connect how calcium's movement is essential for both muscle contraction and synaptic transmission.

Try solving on your own before revealing the answer!

Q3. Explain the relationship between muscle fibers, myofibrils, and myofilaments.

Background

Topic: Muscle Structure Hierarchy

This question tests your knowledge of the structural organization of skeletal muscle from the largest to the smallest components.

Key Terms:

  • Muscle fiber (cell)

  • Myofibril

  • Myofilament (actin and myosin)

Step-by-Step Guidance

  1. Define what a muscle fiber is and its role in muscle tissue.

  2. Describe how myofibrils are organized within a muscle fiber.

  3. Explain what myofilaments are and how they relate to myofibrils.

  4. Illustrate the hierarchical relationship from muscle fiber to myofibril to myofilament.

Try solving on your own before revealing the answer!

Q4. What are the events that occur when an action potential reaches a synaptic bulb? Know the order.

Background

Topic: Synaptic Transmission

This question assesses your understanding of the sequence of events that occur at the synaptic terminal when a nerve impulse arrives.

Key Terms:

  • Action potential

  • Synaptic bulb (terminal)

  • Neurotransmitter release

  • Calcium influx, vesicle fusion, exocytosis

Step-by-Step Guidance

  1. Describe what happens when an action potential arrives at the synaptic bulb.

  2. Explain the role of voltage-gated calcium channels in the synaptic terminal.

  3. Outline the process of neurotransmitter-containing vesicles fusing with the presynaptic membrane.

  4. List the steps in the correct order, from arrival of the action potential to neurotransmitter release into the synaptic cleft.

Try solving on your own before revealing the answer!

Q5. What are the three sources of ATP production in skeletal muscle cells?

Background

Topic: Muscle Metabolism

This question tests your knowledge of how skeletal muscle cells generate ATP to fuel contraction.

Key Terms:

  • ATP (adenosine triphosphate)

  • Creatine phosphate

  • Anaerobic glycolysis

  • Aerobic respiration

Step-by-Step Guidance

  1. List the three main pathways for ATP production in skeletal muscle.

  2. Briefly describe how each pathway generates ATP (e.g., speed, oxygen requirement).

  3. Compare the duration and efficiency of each ATP source.

Try solving on your own before revealing the answer!

Q6. List the five interrelated steps that occur once the contraction cycle has begun.

Background

Topic: Muscle Contraction Cycle

This question focuses on your understanding of the sequence of events in the sliding filament mechanism of muscle contraction.

Key Terms:

  • Contraction cycle

  • Cross-bridge formation

  • Power stroke

  • ATP binding and hydrolysis

Step-by-Step Guidance

  1. Identify the first event that initiates the contraction cycle (e.g., myosin head attachment).

  2. List the subsequent steps in the correct order, including cross-bridge formation, power stroke, detachment, and reactivation.

  3. Briefly describe what happens in each step.

Try solving on your own before revealing the answer!

Q7. Name the structural components of a typical neuron.

Background

Topic: Neuron Structure

This question tests your ability to identify and describe the main parts of a neuron.

Key Terms:

  • Cell body (soma)

  • Dendrites

  • Axon

  • Axon terminals

  • Myelin sheath

Step-by-Step Guidance

  1. List the main structural components of a neuron.

  2. Describe the function of each component.

  3. Identify any specializations (e.g., myelin sheath, nodes of Ranvier).

Try solving on your own before revealing the answer!

Q8. Classify neurons according to their structure.

Background

Topic: Neuron Classification

This question examines your understanding of the structural classification of neurons based on the number and arrangement of processes extending from the cell body.

Key Terms:

  • Multipolar neuron

  • Bipolar neuron

  • Unipolar (pseudounipolar) neuron

Step-by-Step Guidance

  1. List the three main structural types of neurons.

  2. Describe the distinguishing features of each type (number of dendrites and axons).

  3. Provide an example of where each type is found in the body.

Try solving on your own before revealing the answer!

Q9. Differentiate between the primary functions of the sympathetic and parasympathetic divisions of the autonomic nervous system. Provide examples of each.

Background

Topic: Autonomic Nervous System

This question tests your understanding of the two main divisions of the autonomic nervous system and their effects on the body.

Key Terms:

  • Sympathetic division

  • Parasympathetic division

  • "Fight or flight" vs. "Rest and digest"

Step-by-Step Guidance

  1. Describe the general function of the sympathetic division and give examples (e.g., increased heart rate).

  2. Describe the general function of the parasympathetic division and give examples (e.g., decreased heart rate).

  3. Compare and contrast the effects of each division on various organs.

Try solving on your own before revealing the answer!

Q10. Classify neurons into three categories according to their function.

Background

Topic: Functional Classification of Neurons

This question tests your knowledge of the three functional types of neurons in the nervous system.

Key Terms:

  • Sensory (afferent) neurons

  • Motor (efferent) neurons

  • Interneurons (association neurons)

Step-by-Step Guidance

  1. List the three functional categories of neurons.

  2. Describe the role of each type in the nervous system.

  3. Provide an example of each type's function.

Try solving on your own before revealing the answer!

Q11. Compare and contrast the controlling mechanisms of the nervous system and the endocrine system.

Background

Topic: Nervous vs. Endocrine System

This question examines your understanding of how the nervous and endocrine systems regulate body functions, including similarities and differences.

Key Terms:

  • Nervous system

  • Endocrine system

  • Neurotransmitters, hormones

  • Speed, duration, specificity

Step-by-Step Guidance

  1. Describe how the nervous system controls body functions (e.g., electrical impulses, rapid response).

  2. Describe how the endocrine system controls body functions (e.g., hormones, slower but longer-lasting effects).

  3. Compare and contrast the two systems in terms of speed, duration, and specificity of response.

Try solving on your own before revealing the answer!

Q12. Name the two lobes of the pituitary gland and the cellular sources of their secreted hormones.

Background

Topic: Pituitary Gland Structure

This question tests your knowledge of the anatomy of the pituitary gland and the origin of its hormones.

Key Terms:

  • Anterior lobe (adenohypophysis)

  • Posterior lobe (neurohypophysis)

  • Hormone-secreting cells

Step-by-Step Guidance

  1. Name the two main lobes of the pituitary gland.

  2. Identify the type of cells in each lobe responsible for hormone secretion.

  3. Briefly describe how each lobe releases its hormones (e.g., direct secretion vs. release of hypothalamic hormones).

Try solving on your own before revealing the answer!

Q13. Identify the nine pituitary hormones and their target tissues.

Background

Topic: Pituitary Hormones

This question tests your ability to recall the hormones produced by the pituitary gland and the tissues or organs they affect.

Key Terms:

  • Anterior pituitary hormones

  • Posterior pituitary hormones

  • Target tissues

Step-by-Step Guidance

  1. List the hormones secreted by the anterior and posterior pituitary lobes.

  2. For each hormone, identify its main target tissue or organ.

  3. Briefly describe the primary function of each hormone.

Try solving on your own before revealing the answer!

Pearson Logo

Study Prep