Animal Science: Five Reasons That the Muscular System Is So Important

Keeping the Body Warm

• Muscles in warm-blooded animals act as insulators, helping to keep the body warm. Muscles are filled with blood that carries heat. When muscles expand and contract involuntarily, such as when an animal shivers, heat is generated, helping the animal maintain an optimal body temperature. This is essential for all warm-blooded animals to prevent organ failure and stimulate body responses, such as escaping from a predator.

Locomotion is Essential

• Animals must move constantly, whether migrating, chasing prey or eluding predators. The skeletal muscles are essential in helping animals initiate and perform voluntary movements. Whether walking, running, jumping, eating or nursing their young, animals need healthy skeletal muscles to accomplish any survival task.

  Just as important, however, are the fine motor skills aided by involuntarily reactions such as an animal blinking to protect its eyes against foreign objects. Fine motor skills help animals precisely control certain movements as well, such as a cat jumping from one ledge to another and landing precisely. While excellent perception is important in such a task, a healthy muscular system enables the cat to complete such a task successfully.

Protecting Internal Organs

• Skeletal muscles help to protect an animal's vital organs, in particular those organs located in the abdominal cavities. Unlike the heart or lungs, which are protected by the skeletal system itself, the abdominal cavity is not afforded such protection. The smooth muscles found in these areas help to protect those vital organs when the animal needs to defend itself, whether fending off prey or fighting over territory with an inter-species rival.

Maintaining Good Posture

• Posture is essential for all animals. Posture helps an animal maintain balance whether standing or performing precision movements, such as crouching for a long period of time, then springing for prey. Good posture emanates from a balance of muscle flexibility and strength, allowing an animal to perform movements with precision and grace. On most animals, the muscles important for posture are located in the torso area.

Blood Circulation is Vital

• Cardiac muscles, or the muscles of the heart in an animal, are crucial for circulating blood properly. The heart receives blood from the muscles and pumps the blood into the lungs, where it picks up oxygen and then goes back into arteries that supply the body with oxygen. The smooth muscles located in the arteries of an animal contract to receive the blood and help push it through the blood vessels. Without the proper circulation of blood, an animal will suffer from oxygen deprivation.