Muscle is the contractile tissue of the body, composed of specialised cells that convert chemical energy into mechanical force and movement. Three types are recognised: Skeletal Muscle, which is striated and under voluntary control and produces locomotion and posture; cardiac muscle, which is striated and involuntar…
Muscle is the contractile tissue of the body, composed of specialised cells that convert chemical energy into mechanical force and movement. Three types are recognised: Skeletal Muscle, which is striated and under voluntary control and produces locomotion and posture; cardiac muscle, which is striated and involuntary and drives the heartbeat; and smooth muscle, which lines hollow organs and regulates their tone. Contraction is generated at the molecular level by the sliding of actin and myosin filaments within sarcomeres, powered by ATP and regulated by calcium and accessory proteins, with elastic elements contributing to passive mechanical behaviour. Skeletal Muscle exhibits remarkable plasticity, adapting its mass, fibre composition, and mechanical properties in response to loading, exercise, nutrition, disuse, and disease; it can undergo hypertrophy with training and dietary protein, and atrophy or altered electromechanical performance under conditions such as prolonged unloading. Muscle function is integral to gait, force production, and metabolic regulation, and its disturbance features in neuromuscular and movement disorders. The peer-reviewed research collected under this topic addresses the mechanical properties of human muscle after spaceflight, exercise-induced Skeletal Muscle hypertrophy, muscle activation patterns in movement disorders such as Parkinson's disease, and broader physiological and pathological influences on muscle, reflecting the tissue's central role in movement, force generation, and adaptation to physical and metabolic demands.
12 peer-reviewed articles, ranked by relevance. Each links to its DOI.
The 12 articles above have been cited 25 times in the scholarly literature. Citation data via OpenAlex and Crossref, updated Jun 2026.
A sample of recent works citing this journal's research on Muscles, linking to each citing work.