Chapter 9.4, Problem 20AYP

Summary Introduction

To analyze:

The resting membrane potential and the three factors that create it.

Introduction:

The muscle cells like other cells of the body are electrically excitable. This property of excitability leads to the contraction of the muscles. The contraction of muscles occurs when the signals travel from the spinal cord or the brain through the axons to the muscle fibers. The negativity of the inner portion of the plasma membrane as compared to the outside of the plasma membrane gives rise to the polarized nature of the electrically excitable cells. This charge difference along the plasma membrane of an unstimulated cell is known as the resting membrane potential.