If we were to compare smooth muscle with skeletal muscle we notice that they are very different from one another. Firstly, smooth muscles have a slow cycling of myosin cross bridges as compared to skeletal muscle. However, the fraction of time that the cross bridges remain attached to the actin filaments is believed to be greatly increased in smooth muscle. Secondly, Less energy is required to sustain the same tension of contraction in smooth muscle as in skeletal muscle. Thirdly, The maximum force of contraction of smooth muscle is often even greater than that of skeletal muscle. This great force of smooth muscle contraction results from the prolonged period of attachment of the myosin cross-bridges to the actin filaments.

The Gastrointestinal tract has 2 major networks of nerve fibers - Myenteric plexus and the Submucous plexus. The plexuses are interconnected, and they contain motor neurons that innervate the smooth muscle. This is the enteric nervous system. The intestine also receives a dual extrinsic innervation from the autonomic nervous system, with p

Cold Water - From all the chemistry classes that we've taken over our course of classes, we know that decreasing temperature results in decrease of rate of reaction. This is exactly what we found when we did our experiment. As we decreased the temperature of the water added, the rate, amplitude and the tone all kept on decreasing. At a temperature of 23°, the motility seemed to cease. When we placed the intestine segment back into warm water, it returned to its normal contraction values, depicting its adaptability.

4. Tharp, G.D. and D.A. Woodman Experiments in Physiology (8th edition). New Jersey: Prentice Hall, 2002, Chapter 11.

Vasopressin (ADH) - It is a polypeptide hormone secreted by the posterior pituitary gland. Its principal action is to regulate the amount of water excreted by the kidneys. It causes the kidneys to reabsorb water directly from the renal tubules, thus concentrating the salts and waste products in the liquid, which will eventually become urine. ADH secretion by the pituitary is regulated by neural connections from the hypothalamus, which is believed to monitor either the volume of blood passing through it or the concentration of water in the blood. Its effects are mediated by V1 receptor found in vascular smooth muscle. The effects for this drug are more prominent in the kidneys than in the GI tract.

Some common words found in the essay are:
Sundaram December, Vasopressin ADH, Histamine Pilocarpine, Calcium Calcium, Spikes Peristalsis, Cold Water, smooth muscle, H2 Histamine, Champe Constriction, Vasopressin Atropine, Tone Epinephrine, ¯ ¯, nervous system, skeletal muscle, gi motility, ¯ ¯ ¯, gi tract, contraction smooth muscle, calcium ions, contraction smooth, muscle fibers, muscle skeletal, smooth muscle skeletal, muscle skeletal muscle, increase gi motility,
Approximate Word count = 1793
Approximate Pages = 7 (250 words per page double spaced)