Muscular system Muscular system The muscular system is an organ system consisting of skeletal, smooth and cardiac muscles. It permits movement of the body, maintains posture and circulates blood throughout the body. The muscular systems in vertebrates are controlled through the nervous system although some muscles (such as the cardiac muscle) can be completely autonomous. Together with the skeletal system, it forms the musculoskeletal system, which is responsible for movement of the human body. There are three distinct types of muscles: skeletal muscles, cardiac or heart muscles, and smooth (non-striated) muscles. Muscles provide strength, balance, posture, movement and heat for the body
Muscular hydrostat a constant diameter. Bending of a muscular hydrostat can also occur by the contraction of transverse, radial, or circular muscles which decreases the diameter. Bending is produced by longitudinal muscle activity which maintains a constant length on one side of the structure. The bending of a muscular hydrostat is particularly important in animal tongues. This motion provides the mechanism by which a snake flicks the air with its tongue to sense its surroundings, and it is also responsible for the complexities of human speech. The stiffening of a muscular hydrostat is accomplished by the muscle or connective tissue of the