Interdependence: Nervous and Muscular Systems

   The nervous and muscular systems, two unique and crucial components of our complete body system, work together to help us function daily. The muscular system receives messages from the nervous system, giving it information about when to perform an action and how to perform the action. Without the nervous system, the muscular system would not be able to function in aiding our movement, because it would have nothing to guide it. Furthermore, without the muscular system, we wouldn't be able to  move even if we did have the nervous system. Also, the nervous system would be at a loss for what to do, as it wouldn't have anything to signal to move. Therefore, without either of these systems, we wouldn't be able to move properly.

    Your conscious mind relays a command to your central nervous system, which translates the command into electrical impulses. When the muscles are ready, a chemical, acetylene, is released from the nerve endings, stimulating the membranes of muscle fibers, thus causing them to contract.

    Some axons, where impulses are conducted from the cell body to other cells,  are covered in a myelin sheath formed from the plasma membranes of specialized glial cells known as Schwann cells. Schwann cells are another name for the basic nerve cell. 

     Lastly, some of you might be wondering what the terms involuntary and voluntary mean. They are two different types of muscles that are named voluntary and involuntary because of their actions and the way they perform the actions. You see, a voluntary muscle is controllable by us. Our nervous system can directly send chemical messages and signal our voluntary muscles what to do. On the other hand, involuntary muscles are not controllable; our nerves cannot tell involuntary muscles what to do. These muscles act more by reflex and instinct. This is why sometimes you may be caught off guard when your body jerks because of involuntary muscles. If you are still having trouble understanding some of the concepts explained in this article, comment below and I will try to help you.