Muscle Biomechanics

There are three main types of muscles:
1.)Skeletal muscle (striated):
Unlike cardiac muscle, skeletal muscle can develop a sustained condition known as tetany through high frequency stimulation, resulting in overlapping twitches and a phenomenon known as wave summation. At a sufficiently high frequency, tetany occurs, and the contracticle force appears constant through time. This allows skeletal muscle to develop a wide variety of forces. This muscle type can be voluntary controlled. Hill's Model is the most popular model used to study muscle.

2.)Cardiac muscle (striated):
Cardiomyocytes are a highly specialized cell type. These involuntarily contracted cells are located in the heart wall and operate in concert to develop synchronized beats. This is attributable to a refractory period between twitches.

3.)Smooth muscle (smooth - lacking striations): The stomach, vasculature, and most of the digestive tract are largely composed of smooth muscle. This muscle type is involuntary and is controlled by the enteric nervous system.