The Muscular SystemPRE-LAB QUESTIONS
1. How do banding patterns change when a muscle contracts?
2. What is the difference between a muscle organ, a muscle fiber, a myofibril, and a
myofilament?
3. Outline the molecular mechanism for skeletal muscle contraction. At what point is ATP
used and why?
4. Explain why rigor mortis occurs.
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The Muscular System
EXPERIMENT 1: TENDONS AND LIGAMENTS
Post-Lab Questions
1. Identify the components in the slide image below based on your observations from the
experiment.
A_______________
B_______________
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The Muscular System
2. Identify the components in the slide image below based on your observations from the
experiment.
A_______________
B_______________
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The Muscular System
3. Identify the components in the slide image below based on your observations from the
experiment.
A_______________
B_______________
4. How does the extracellular matrix of connective tissues contribute to its function?
5. Why are tendons and ligaments difficult to heal?
6. What differences do you see between the tendon-muscle insertion images and the
tendon images?
7. What differences do you see between the tendon and ligament images?
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The Muscular System
EXPERIMENT 2: THE NEUROMUSCULAR JUNCTION
Post-Lab Questions
1. Identify the axon, terminal branches, and muscle fibers in the slide image below. If
possible, trace the fiber to its terminus.
2. Are there few or many nuclei at the end plate?
3. What is a motor neuron?
4. How is greater muscle force generated (in terms of motor unit recruitment)?
5. What types of sensors are present within the muscle to identify how much force is
generated?
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The Muscular System
EXPERIMENT 3: MUSCLE FATIGUE
Data Tables
Table 2: Experimental Counts
Trial 1
Trial 2
Trial 3
Trial 4
Trial 5
Predicted Value
Actual Value
Post-Lab Questions
1. How did the predicted results compare to the actual results?
2. Did you notice any changes in the number of repetitions you could perform or how your
hand felt after each trial?
3. Explain the actions that were occurring at the cellular level to produce this movement.
Include sources of energy and any possible effect of muscle fatigue.
4. Hypothesize what would happen if you restricted blood flow during the experiment.
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The Muscular System
EXPERIMENT 4: GROSS ANATOMY OF THE MUSCULAR
SYSTEM
Data Tables
Table 3: Gross Anatomy Data
Movement
Muscle(s) Activated
Action(s) of Muscle(s)
Forearm Extended (Step 1)
Fingers Extended and Splayed (Step 1)
Fingers Retracted (Step 1)
Forearm Pressed Down Upon (Step 2)
Elbow Bent (Step 3)
Arm Raised to Side with Heavy Object
(Step 4)
Arm Extended Back with Heavy Object
(Step 4)
(lower limbs; student selects action…)
(lower limbs; student selects action…)
(lower limbs; student selects action…)
(lower limbs; student selects action…)
(lower limbs; student selects action…)
(lower limbs; student selects action…)
(lower limbs; student selects action…)
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The Muscular System
Post-Lab Questions
1. Label the human muscle diagram.
A________________
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The Muscular System
B________________
C________________
D________________
E________________
F________________
G________________
H________________
2. Which muscle(s) were used to extend your arms backward?
3. Which muscle(s) were used to extend and splay your fingers outward?
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The Muscular System
EXPERIMENT 5: ATP AND MUSCLE FATIGUE
Data Tables
Table 4: Muscle Fatigue Data
Trial
Time (seconds)
Trial 1
Trial 2
Trial 3
Post-Lab Questions
1. What happened to the time intervals between Trial 1 and Trial 3? What caused this
change?
2. Identify three muscles that were engaged during the wall-sit.
3. Explain the biochemical reasoning behind muscle fatigue.
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The Muscular System
EXPERIMENT 6: VIRTUAL MODEL – THE MUSCULAR
SYSTEM (UPPER BODY)
Post-Lab Questions
1. What is the term for the muscles of the mouth?
2. What is the scientific name of the muscle that facilitates the raising of the lower lip? Is it
on the ventral or dorsal side of the body?
3. Which muscle is deeper in the body: the internal oblique muscle or the transverse
abdominal muscle?
4. Is the trapezius muscle located in the abdomen, back, head, neck, or thorax?
5. What muscle is medial to the deltoid muscle?
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The Muscular System
EXPERIMENT 7: VIRTUAL MODEL – THE MUSCULAR
SYSTEM (LOWER BODY)
Post-Lab Questions
1. What is the role of the long extensor muscle of the toes? Which toes does it control?
2. How many adductor muscles exist within the body? List them here.
3. Is the gracilis muscle located in the foot, hip, leg, or thigh muscle group?
4. Relate the location of the semitendinous muscle and the greater gluteal muscle.
5. Which muscle is most distal: the pectineal muscle, the soleus muscle, or the abductor
muscle of the great toe?
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The Skeletal System
PRE-LAB QUESTIONS
1. List the functions of the skeletal system.
2. What material contributes the most to the compressive strength of bone?
3. Briefly describe the process of bone remodeling.
4. Research Wolff’s Law. How does the formation of torus mandibularis relate to this
theory?
5. Given your understanding of Wolff’s Law, what mechanical consideration would be
important when designing a bioreactor for osteocyte growth ex vivo?
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The Skeletal System
EXPERIMENT 1: CLASSIFICATION OF BONES
Data Tables
Table 6: Classification of Numbered Bones
Bone Name
Classification by Shape
Classification by Location
Post-Lab Questions
1. Why is it important to classify bones?
2. Aside from length, what are some other common characteristics of a long bone? Are
long bones typically associated with the axial or appendicular skeleton?
3. Compare and contrast flat bones and long bones.
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The Skeletal System
EXPERIMENT 2: DIGITAL SLIDE IMAGE EXAMINATION BONE
Post-Lab Questions
1. Identify the indicated components in the slide image.
A_________________
B_________________
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The Skeletal System
C_________________
D_________________
2. Identify the indicated components in the slide image.
A_________________
B_________________
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The Skeletal System
3. Compare and contrast the structures of cortical bone and trabecular bone.
4. What is the purpose of cortical bone and trabecular bone?
5. What are trabeculae? What is their function?
6. What are Haversian systems? What is their function?
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The Skeletal System
EXPERIMENT 3: OWL PELLET DISSECTION
Data Tables
Table 7: Owl Pellet Observations
Pellet Characteristics
Observations
Pellet Length (cm)
Pellet Width (cm)
Physical Observations
Table 8: Animal Bone Observations
Bone
Animal Source
Number of Bones
Skull
Jaw
Scapula
Rib
Vertebrae
Hindlimb
Forelimb
Pelvic bone
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The Skeletal System
Post-Lab Questions
1. What types of bones did you recover from the pellet?
2. Compare the bones you dissected in the owl pellet to human bones. Which bones are
similar, which are different, and why?
3. How can scientists use owl pellets to study the skeletal systems of small mammals in a
specific ecosystem?
4. In addition to owls, other birds of prey produce pellets. The contents of these pellets are
dictated by where the bird lives. What would you expect to find in a pellet from a
shorebird, such as a gull?
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The Skeletal System
EXPERIMENT 4: EFFECTS OF ACID ON BONE
Data Tables
Table 9: Effect on Pellet Bones
Beaker
Observations
Water
Vinegar
Post-Lab Questions
1. Which group of bones is more flexible? Why is this so?
2. What was damaged in the bones placed in vinegar?
3. How might the experiment results vary if the same procedure was performed using
bones that had not been regurgitated in an owl pellet (such as raw chicken bones)?
4. Some people suffer from a disease called rickets, in which their bones have not been
adequately calcified. Which group of bones is most similar to that of a patient with
rickets? Why?
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The Skeletal System
EXPERIMENT 5: PHYSICAL SKELETON – THE AXIAL
SKELETON
Data Tables
Table 15: Cervical Vertebrae Observations
Vertebral Feature
Observations
Size of cervical vertebrae in
comparison to those of the thoracic
and lumbar region
Shape of the vertebral foramen
Spinous process of the C3 – C6
vertebrae
Spinous process of the C7 vertebra
Table 16: Thoracic Vertebrae Observations
Vertebral Feature
Observations
Size and weight of the thoracic vertebrae in
comparison to those of the cervical and
lumbar region
Shape of the vertebral body
Appearance and projection direction of the
spinous process
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The Skeletal System
Table 17: Lumbar Vertebrae Observations
Vertebral Feature
Observations
Size of the lumbar vertebrae in
comparison to those of the
cervical and thoracic region
Shape of the vertebral body
Appearance and projection
direction of the spinous
process
Table 18: Rib Feature Observations
Rib Feature
Observations
Length of ribs 1 – 7 (do they
increase or decrease in length?)
Length of ribs 8 – 12 (do they
increase or decrease in length?)
Articulation of the ribs and
thoracic vertebrae (notice the
specific rib and vertebra that
articulate)
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The Skeletal System
Post-Lab Questions
1. What are the three components of the axial skeleton? Describe the function of each.
2. Identify the labeled components on the skull below.
A ________________
B ________________
C ________________
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The Skeletal System
D ________________
E ________________
F ________________
3. Indicate whether the following bones are cranial or facial bones, and give their location.
Bone
Facial or Cranial Location
Temporal Bones
Mandible
Vomer
Zygomatic Bones
Parietal Bones
Ethmoid Bone
Sphenoid Bone
Lacrimal Bones
4. What are the three regions of the vertebral column? Describe the general shape and
size of the vertebrae in each region.
5. What are the atlas and axis? What are their functions?
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The Skeletal System
6. Identify the vertebral structures on the images below.
A ________________
B ________________
C ________________
D ________________
E ________________
7. What is the purpose of the thoracic cage?
8. Describe the three components of the sternum.
9. Describe the difference between true ribs, false ribs, and floating ribs.
©eScience Labs, 2016
The Skeletal System
EXPERIMENT 6: VIRTUAL MODEL – THE AXIAL SKELETON
Post-Lab Questions
1. What features are located inferior to the cranium and superior to the mandible? Identify
the category here. How many individual items are included in this category? (Hint: the
answer is not a bone.)
2. Why aren’t teeth considered bones?
3. Identify the two major bones that comprise the head.
4. To what bones does the right scapula attach?
5. Is the left clavicle superior or inferior to the right scapula?
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The Skeletal System
EXPERIMENT 7: PHYSICAL SKELETON – THE
APPENDICULAR SKELETON
Post-Lab Questions
1. What are the four parts of the upper extremity and the lower extremity of the
appendicular skeleton?
2. Compare and contrast the size and function of the upper and lower extremities of the
appendicular skeleton.
3. What are the three fused bones that make up the coxae of the pelvic girdle? What is
their location in relationship to one another?
©eScience Labs, 2016
The Skeletal System
EXPERIMENT 8: VIRTUAL MODEL – THE APPENDICULAR
SKELETON
Post-Lab Questions
1. How many left metatarsals are there?
2. Is the right fibula inferior or superior to the patella?
3. Which is more proximal to the body: the lunate bone or the medial epicondyle?
4. Which two bones attach to the patella?
5. Identify the two bones that comprise the leg.
©eScience Labs, 2016
The Skeletal System
EXPERIMENT 9: ARTICULATIONS
Post-Lab Questions
1. In what two ways can joints be classified? What are the three classifications of each
type?
2. Fibrous joints are either sutures or syndesmoses. What is the difference between the
two? Give examples of each type.
3. Symphyses and synchondroses are two classifications of what type of joint? What are
the differences between the two classifications?
4. What allows synovial joints to be diarthrotic?
5. Fill in the table below:
Joint
Articulating Bones
Type of Synovial Joint
Movement
Elbow
Knee
Hip
Ankle
Wrist
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