catflap.org Online Dictionary Query

  Muscle \Mus"cle\ (m[u^]s"'l), n. [F., fr. L. musculus a muscle,
     a little mouse, dim. of mus a mouse. See Mouse, and cf.
     sense 3 (below).]
     1. (Anat.)
        (a) An organ which, by its contraction, produces motion.
            See Illust. of Muscles of the Human Body, in Appendix.
        (b) The contractile tissue of which muscles are largely
            made up.
            [1913 Webster]
  
     Note: Muscles are of two kinds, striated and nonstriated. The
           striated muscles, which, in most of the higher animals,
           constitute the principal part of the flesh, exclusive
           of the fat, are mostly under the control of the will,
           or voluntary, and are made up of great numbers of
           elongated fibres bound together into bundles and
           inclosed in a sheath of connective tissue, the
           perimysium. Each fiber is inclosed in a delicate
           membrane (the sarcolemma), is made up of alternate
           segments of lighter and darker material which give it a
           transversely striated appearance, and contains,
           scattered through its substance, protoplasmic nuclei,
           the so-called muscle corpuscles.
           [1913 Webster] The nonstriated muscles are involuntary.
           They constitute a large part of the walls of the
           alimentary canal, blood vessels, uterus, and bladder,
           and are found also in the iris, skin, etc. They are
           made up of greatly elongated cells, usually grouped in
           bundles or sheets.
           [1913 Webster]
  
     2. Muscular strength or development; as, to show one's muscle
        by lifting a heavy weight. [Colloq.]
        [1913 Webster]
  
     3. [AS. muscle, L. musculus a muscle, mussel. See above.]
        (Zo["o]l.) See Mussel.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     4. An essential part of something; as, budget cuts have gone
        beyond the fat and are cutting into the muscle of the
        government.
        [PJC]
  
     5. Bodyguards or other persons hired to provide protection or
        commit violence; as, he doesn't go out without his muscle
        along. [slang]
        [PJC]
  
     Muscle curve (Physiol.), contraction curve of a muscle; a
        myogram; the curve inscribed, upon a prepared surface, by
        means of a myograph when acted upon by a contracting
        muscle. The character of the curve represents the extent
        of the contraction.
        [1913 Webster]

  Muscle \Mus"cle\, n. [F., fr. L. musculus a muscle, a little
     mouse, dim. of mus a mouse. See Mouse, and cf. sense 3
     (below).]
     1. (Anat.)
        (a) An organ which, by its contraction, produces motion.
            See Illust. of Muscles of the Human Body, in Appendix.
        (b) The contractile tissue of which muscles are largely
            made up.
  
     Note: Muscles are of two kinds, striated and nonstriated. The
           striated muscles, which, in most of the higher animals,
           constitute the principal part of the flesh, exclusive
           of the fat, are mostly under the control of the will,
           or voluntary, and are made up of great numbers of
           elongated fibres bound together into bundles and
           inclosed in a sheath of connective tissue, the
           perimysium. Each fiber is inclosed in a delicate
           membrane (the sarcolemma), is made up of alternate
           segments of lighter and darker material which give it a
           transversely striated appearance, and contains,
           scattered through its substance, protoplasmic nuclei,
           the so-called muscle corpuscles. The nonstriated
           muscles are involuntary. They constitute a large part
           of the walls of the alimentary canal, blood vessels,
           uterus, and bladder, and are found also in the iris,
           skin, etc. They are made up of greatly elongated cells,
           usually grouped in bundles or sheets.
  
     2. Muscular strength or development; as, to show one's muscle
        by lifting a heavy weight. [Colloq.]
  
     3. [AS. muscle, L. musculus a muscle, mussel. See above.]
        (Zo["o]l.) See Mussel.
  
     Muscle curve (Physiol.), contraction curve of a muscle; a
        myogram; the curve inscribed, upon a prepared surface, by
        means of a myograph when acted upon by a contracting
        muscle. The character of the curve represents the extent
        of the contraction.