The human body has three different types of muscle tissue. Each of the muscle types work differently, allowing us to have control over some bodily functions and little or no control over other bodily functions, based on how the tissue works and responds to the central nervous system.
Smooth Muscle
Smooth muscle tissue is completely involuntary, meaning the brain cannot change the movement patterns of these muscle tissues. Smooth muscle tissue forms the muscular layers around the walls of hollow organs like those found in the digestive tract, as well as the walls of the bladder, uterus, blood vessels and ducts of glands. Smooth muscles allow organs to stretch and contract as needed.
Skeletal Muscle
Skeletal muscle is the most abundant tissue in the human body. Skeletal muscle connects to the bone via tendons, and is responsible for all controlled movements of the body. Muscles are only able to pull or contract, so they usually come in sets of antagonists, with one muscle performing an action on a joint, and the opposing muscle performing the opposite action on the joint. In addition, there are two subsets of muscle tissue. The type 1 fibers are used during slower long duration movements like walking, while the fast twitch type 2 muscles are used during explosive movements like sprinting and jumping.
Cardiac Muscle
Cardiac muscle, which is only found in the heart, has properties of both smooth and skeletal muscle. Like smooth muscle tissue, cardiac muscle is involuntary. However, cardiac muscle is striated like skeletal muscle, meaning the muscle cells overlap and appear striped under a microscope, though this isn't as obvious in cardiac muscle cells.
