Smooth Muscle

Definition of Smooth Muscle:

The human body contains 2 types of muscle – smooth muscle and striated (skeletal) muscle.  Smooth muscle is found in our internal organs such as stomach, intestines, blood vessels, or uterus (womb) and causes them to contract.  These muscles are involuntary – that is, we don't control their movement.

Also: Involuntary Muscle

Topics Related to Smooth Muscle

Adenomyosis

...the condition
“...Some 50% have associated fibroids (benign smooth muscle tumors of the uterus); approximately 11% have endometriosis (endometrial tissue outside of the uterus); and 7% have endometrial polyps (benign outgrowths of endometrial tissue)...”

Asthma

...the condition
“...Mild episodic asthma is mainly due to bronchial smooth muscle contraction whereas moderate to severe sustained asthma is largely due to chronic inflammation of the bronchi with the presence of white cells such as eosinophils, neutrophils and...”
...relationship to Allergy to Foods (Hidden)
“...These chemicals cause a variety of symptoms, including constriction of the bronchial smooth muscle in the lungs; this is the first event during an asthmatic attack...”
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More topics Related to Smooth Muscle

Bromelain

...as a treatment
“...Other activities associated with bromelain include inhibition of platelet aggregation, decreasing the viscosity of mucus (mucolytic), antibiotic activity and smooth muscle relaxant.  Bromelain is commonly taken as a digestive aid to enhance absorption of proteins...”

Cardiospasm

...related topic
“...As a consequence the smooth muscle in the wall of the esophagus must contract more vigorously to force the food past the constricted sphincter...”

Colic

...related topic
“Cramping or spasms of a smooth muscle tube, such as the uterus (menstrual cramps) the ureters (passing kidney stones) or the stomach (stomach ache).”

Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease

...the condition
“...They often develop involuntary muscle jerks called myoclonus, and they may go blind or lose bladder control...”

Dong Quai

...as a treatment
“...These activities make dong quai a mild hypotensive, and may account for its smooth muscle relaxing activity...”

Eclampsia

...related topic
“A rare, but serious complication of pregnancy characterized by an attack of convulsions (abnormal, severe, involuntary muscle movements) that are not caused by other conditions of the brain, such as bleeding in the brain...”

Erectile Dysfunction (ED, Impotence)

...the condition
“...Men get erections when sexual thoughts, originating in the brain, initiate a flow of nerve signals, some of which are parasympathetic, down the spinal cord to the arteries and smooth muscle in the penis...”

Fennel

...as a treatment
“...Fennel seed extracts have proven to calm muscle spasms by reducing smooth muscle contractions...”

Fibroids

...the condition
“Uterine fibroids or leiomyomata are areas of smooth muscle cells and fibrous connective tissue that develop in or on the uterine wall...”

Intestinal Obstruction

...the condition
“...The walls of the small and large bowel contain layers of smooth muscle that propel their contents forward using a series of muscle contractions called peristalsis...”
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More topics Related to Smooth Muscle

Leiomyomas

...related topic
“Benign tumors of the involuntary muscle.  An encapsulated tumor made up of disorganized and irregular connective tissue...”

Leiomyosarcomas

...related topic
“Malignant tumors of involuntary muscle tissue.  They can grow almost anywhere in the body but are most often found in the retroperitoneum and the internal organs where leiomyomas also arise...”

L-Taurine

...as a treatment
“...able to reduce the calcium-triggered response of blood platelets to various activating factors, and to suppress sympathetic nervous system activity while also reducing the responsiveness of vascular smooth muscle cells to vasoconstricting agents...”

Muscle Cramps / Twitching

...the condition
“...Similarly, in Huntington's chorea, the focus is not only on the display of characteristic involuntary muscle movements, but on the psychological states of apathy, irritability and mania that are experienced with this illness...”

Neutrophilia

...the condition
“...The stress can due to many factors such as nervousness, exercise, or seizures (involuntary muscle movements due to overexcitement of nerve cells in the brain)...”

Seizure

...related topic
“A sudden episode of temporary symptoms such as involuntary muscle movements, sensory disturbances and altered consciousness...”

Soft Tissue Sarcoma

...the condition
“...The types of tumor that can develop from different soft tissues include ... Tumors of Muscle Tissue (smooth muscle and skeletal muscle) – leiomyomas; leiomyosarcomas; Rhabdomyomas; Rhabdomyosarcomas...”

Striated Muscle

...related topic
“The human body contains 2 types of muscle – smooth muscle and striated (skeletal) muscle...”

Uterine Fibroids

...related topic
“...Also known as uterine myomas, leiomyomas, or fibromas, they are firm, compact tumors that are made of smooth muscle cells and fibrous connective tissue that develop in the uterus...”

Vasodilation

...related topic
“Widening or enlarging of blood vessels, particularly arterioles, usually caused by nerve impulses or certain drugs that relax smooth muscle in the walls of the blood vessels.”

Villi

...related topic
“...Each villus contains a capillary network, a lymphatic vessel, and smooth muscle fibers.  The villi are covered with absorptive cells that have cytoplasmic extensions known as microvilli; the microvilli serve to further increase the absorptive surface...”

Vinpocetine

...as a treatment
“...Vinpocetine inhibits an enzyme called phosphodiesterase type 1 (PDE1) while reducing intracellular calcium levels, both of which normally cause smooth muscle in blood vessels to contract and narrow the diameter of the vessels...”
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