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

	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 due primarily to bronchial smooth muscle contraction whereas moderate to severe sustained asthma is largely due to chronic inflammation of the bronchi with the presence of such white cells 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..." 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..." 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..." Environmental Illness / MCS Relationship to Autoimmune Tendency "...One report demonstrated antibodies to smooth muscle (muscle tissue that functions without conscious thought - such as the heart) in half the patients seen in a clinical practice..." 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 wall of the small bowel contains layers of smooth muscle and the nerve supply to this smooth muscle is from both the parasympathetic (vagus nerve) and sympathetic divisions of the autonomic nervous system..." Leiomyomas Related Topic "Benign tumors of the involuntary muscle..." Leiomyosarcomas Related Topic "Malignant tumors of involuntary muscle tissue..." 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..." 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..."

Last updated: May 10, 2007