Sliding Filament Model of Contraction

Image Description:

An image showing the Sliding Filament Model of Contraction.

When signalled by a motor Neuron, a skeletal muscle fibre contracts as the thin filaments are pulled and then slide past the thick filaments within the fibre’s sarcomeres. This process is known as the sliding filament model of muscle contraction. The sliding can only occur when myosin-binding sites on the actin filaments are exposed by a series of steps that begins with Ca⁺⁺ entry into the sarcoplasm.

Image File Sizes:

Anatomy Visible in the Medical Illustration Includes:

Relaxed Muscle, Constricted Muscle, Actin, Myosin

Image created by:

Eduard Muller