Question about Cardiac Muscle

[MedGrl@2022]

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This is a question taken from the AAMC MCAT book:

"17. Skeletal muscle can be distinguished from other muscle types in that skeletal muscle is the only type of muscle that:

A. uses a sliding-filament mechanism of contraction.
B. is innervated by the somatic nervous system.
C. contracts when there is a cytosolic influx of Ca2+.
D. contains gap junctions between individual cells."

I chose C but I know that it is wrong. I was tempted to chose the right answer which is B, but then I thought about how the vagus nerve innervates the heart which is part of the parasympathetic nervous system. Thus, how can B be the right answer?

Thank you!

 

[samps]

Parasympathetic is part of the autonomic nervous system, not somatic. Somatic is just voluntary movement of skeletal muscles.

 

[MedGrl@2022]

Parasympathetic is part of the autonomic nervous system, not somatic. Somatic is just voluntary movement of skeletal muscles.

*palm to face* Good thing I caught that before actual test date! 🙂

 

[dudewheresmymd]

the somatic nervous (voluntary) system only innervates skeletal muscle tissue. the autonomic (involuntary) nervous system innervates smooth muscle, glands, and cardiac muscle. the autonomic nervous system's motor neurons are split into parasympathetic and sympathetic. the vagus nerve is parasympathetic-->autonomic system