During the sliding filament contraction, which region of the sarcomere shortens?

Study for the Ivy Tech APHY 101 Muscle System Test. Dive into comprehensive questions with clear hints and explanations, boosting your confidence for the exam!

Multiple Choice

During the sliding filament contraction, which region of the sarcomere shortens?

Explanation:
During contraction, the filaments slide past one another, shortening the sarcomere overall. The length of the thick filaments (the A band) stays the same, because they don’t shorten. As actin slides inward, the region that contains only thin filaments—the I band—becomes narrower since overlap with myosin increases. The central H zone (thick filaments with no overlap) also disappears as overlap grows. The Z lines move closer together, but the specific region that actually shortens in length is the I band.

During contraction, the filaments slide past one another, shortening the sarcomere overall. The length of the thick filaments (the A band) stays the same, because they don’t shorten. As actin slides inward, the region that contains only thin filaments—the I band—becomes narrower since overlap with myosin increases. The central H zone (thick filaments with no overlap) also disappears as overlap grows. The Z lines move closer together, but the specific region that actually shortens in length is the I band.

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