Concept explainers
Discuss some of the problems that would result. If the human heart were made of skeletal muscle instead of cardiac muscle.
To discuss:
The problems that would result if the human heart were made of skeletal muscle instead of cardiac muscle.
Introduction:
Heart is a muscular organ which helps in transportation of oxygen and nutrients through the blood into different parts of the body. It is also involved in removing carbon dioxide and other metabolic waste from the body.
Explanation of Solution
Skeletal muscle is striated, unbranched, voluntary muscle, which is under the control of the somatic nervous system. Cardiac muscle is found in the heart. It is also striated due to the presence of regular arrangement of sarcomeres. It is branched and involuntary muscle, which is under the control of the autonomous nervous system. Cardiac muscle is found only in the heart as it is a specialized type of muscle tissue. Its key role is to pump blood in different parts of the body. It helps in transportation of oxygen and nutrients through blood.
Skeletal muscle is voluntary in nature as one can cause their movement it according to their own wish, whereas cardiac muscle is involuntary (their movement is not under our control) and it is active all the time.
If the heart was made up of skeletal muscle, then after performing a constant workout, the mortality rate would have increased and this would have led to the condition of muscle fatigue and stopped heart from functioning. In cardiac muscle, muscle fatigue condition does not arise as it contains numerous mitochondria as compared to skeletal muscle. Presence of mitochondria results in the continuous supply of energy to the heart. Muscle fatigue leads to cause oxygen depletion in the body. Cardiac muscle provides non-stop supply of oxygen and nutrients into different parts of the body.
Skeletal muscle can easily get tired due to depletion of oxygen, whereas due to the presence of a large number of mitochondria in cardiac muscles, it is involved in the continuous supply of oxygen and nutrients to different parts of the body.
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