anatomy functions

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ally1

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anyone have a good tip on how to remember what muscle does what. for eg, serratus anterior protracts scapula....

i have big moore. should i just memorize tables in there?

anything more effective, time efficient?

thanks
 
ally1 said:
anyone have a good tip on how to remember what muscle does what. for eg, serratus anterior protracts scapula....

i have big moore. should i just memorize tables in there?

anything more effective, time efficient?

thanks

Don't memorize a table of functions. The best way is to get a picture in your head of where the muscle is located on the body and where its attachments are. You don't even have to know the exact location as it says on the flash cards. Once you have the picture in your head, then just envision what happens when you fix one set of attachments and pull (contract) the muscle. Ask yourself, "How will the bones its attached to move when the muscle is contracted?" If you memorize a table, the knowledge will leave quickly. If you maintain a picture in your head of the muscle's distribution and attachments, you can figure it out. Use the table for the muscle that you have a difficult time visualizing.

This will provide you with the all important "big picture", and will save you a ton of time. When you have extra time, you can then go to the table to try and memorize details.
 
thanks excalibur, but for instance, if you had pec major adducting and medially rotating the humerus, how would you know which way pec minor is being pulled to make those motions happen. i guess what i am asking is how would you know what pec minor does when it is contracted, extended. i think that is my hang-up, since i don't know which way a muscle would go when contracted, extended, flexed, etc. any websites or resources to learn this basic stuff?

thanks again
 
ally1 said:
thanks excalibur, but for instance, if you had pec major adducting and medially rotating the humerus, how would you know which way pec minor is being pulled to make those motions happen. i guess what i am asking is how would you know what pec minor does when it is contracted, extended. i think that is my hang-up, since i don't know which way a muscle would go when contracted, extended, flexed, etc. any websites or resources to learn this basic stuff?

thanks again

It will come with time.

Muscles are made to contract. You can simulate their action by pulling on them in lab to see what they do. Now JOINTS are either flexed or extended or abducted, etc, but to do this a specific muscle or muscle group needs to contract. So don't think of muscles as extending or flexing, simply contracting.

Now since muscles usually work in antagonistic pairs, when you contract (shorten) one pair, you'll stretch another. When you flex your elbow, you contract your biceps brachii, and in the process your triceps get stretched. When the triceps get stretched, or any muscle for that matter, they have no impact on the principle movement of the joint. They serve as resistance. That's why it's not really important for anatomy to visualize muscles extending.

Knowing how to stretch groups of muscles comes in handy when you're warming up before exercise.

Bottom line: It will come with time
 
ally1 said:
thanks excalibur, but for instance, if you had pec major adducting and medially rotating the humerus, how would you know which way pec minor is being pulled to make those motions happen. i guess what i am asking is how would you know what pec minor does when it is contracted, extended. i think that is my hang-up, since i don't know which way a muscle would go when contracted, extended, flexed, etc. any websites or resources to learn this basic stuff?

thanks again

muscles shorten in the same direction as their fibers are oriented. Look at the muscle fibers, and you will know what will happen when the muscle contracts. The pec minor will shorten in the medial-inferior direction.
 
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