The contraction produced can be described as a twitch, summation, or tetanus, depending on the frequency of action potentials. In skeletal muscles, muscle tension is at its greatest when the muscle is stretched to an intermediate length as described by the length-tension relationship. Smooth and cardiac muscle contractions are myogenic and can be modulated by the autonomic nervous system.
Citation: Pray, L. (2008) Sex-linked diseases: the case of Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD). Nature Education 1(1):132. Prenatal diagnostic testing can now determine whether a fetus carries a debilitating or fatal sex-linked mutation.
Unlike the paired autosomes, in which each member normally carries alleles (forms) of the same genes, the paired sex chromosomes do not carry an identical complement of genetic information. The X chromosome, being larger, carries many more genes than does the Y. Traits controlled by genes found only on the X chromosome are said to be sex-linked (see linkage group). Recessive sex-linked traits, such as hemophilia and redâgreen colour blindness, occur far more frequently in men than in women.