Muscle tissue - Motor neurons stimulate skeletal muscle fibers to contract at the neuromuscular junction

3 important questions on Muscle tissue - Motor neurons stimulate skeletal muscle fibers to contract at the neuromuscular junction

Why do all the cells of the body maintain a membrane potential?

All the cells of the body maintain a membrane potential due to an unequal distribution of positive and negative charges across their plasma membrane.

What are excitable membranes? Which part of the body contains these membranes?

Excitable membranes permit rapid communication between different parts of a cell. Neurons and skeletal muscle fibers have these membranes.

Define the resting state of a muscle.

The resting state arises from two activities:
  • The sodium/potassium ATPase. This pump pushes only two potassium ions (K+) into the cell for every three sodium ions (Na+) it pumps out of the cell so its activity results in a net loss of positive charges within the cell.
  • Some potassium channels in the plasma membrane are "leaky" allowing a slow facilitated diffusion of K+ out of the cell.

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