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.
A particularly important category of genetic linkage has to do with the X and Y sex chromosomes. These not only carry the genes that determine male and female traits but also those for some other characteristics as well. Genes that are carried by either sex chromosome are said to be sex linked. Men normally have an X and a Y combination of sex chromosomes, while women have two X's. Since only men inherit Y chromosomes, they are the only ones to inherit Y-linked traits. Men and women can get the X-linked ones since both inherit X chromosomes.