involuntary muscles
Self-governing body tissue
Involuntary muscles are muscles that operate without conscious control—the heart pumping blood, the stomach churning food, the intestines moving waste.
Also called smooth muscles (except for the heart, which is cardiac muscle), they handle the body's automatic functions.
Contrast with voluntary muscles, which you deliberately control: She couldn't will her involuntary muscles to stop the cramp.
- heartbeatRhythmic cardiac contraction
- cardiacPertaining to the heart
- relaxBecome less tense
- peristalsisInvoluntary digestive muscle waves
- digestive tractInternal food processing passage
pump · visceral · gut feeling · smooth · myocardium · contraction · fibers · breathe · autonomic · movements · diaphragm · tissue · swallow · autonomic nervous system · fight or flight · nervous system · goosebumps · blood vessels
involuntary musclesskeletal muscle
Voluntary movement tissue
voluntary muscle · biceps · triceps · quadriceps · deltoids
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