Training Room 2
1. Training Room 2
1.4. Page 5
Training Room 2: Inside Out—How the Body Works
Muscles of the Human Body
Ryan McVay/Photodisc/Thinkstock
There are over 600 skeletal muscles in the human body. (Don’t worry—you don’t have to learn them all.) You probably already know the names of some of the major muscles because they are part of common terminology you hear every day.
How many muscles can you name right now? Do a quick scan of your body and your memory. Which muscles do you already know? You have probably heard of these muscles:
- biceps
- glutes (short for gluteals)
- quads (short for quadriceps)
Naming Muscles
Muscles are generally named according to certain characteristics. Work through “Naming Muscles” to learn some of these characteristics.
Muscles of the Body
Work through these two activities to locate and identify the muscles in the front and back of your body:
You won’t remember muscle names just by reading them once. One way to help remember the names of muscles is to think about which muscles you are using as you perform daily tasks.
Another way is to play games with the muscle names. Search the Internet using the terms “anatomy games” or “muscle anatomy practice,” visit the following websites, or ask your teacher for other suggestions.
- Anatomy Arcade “Poke-a-Muscle” (Remember to wait 15 seconds for the advertisement for the unrelated game.)
- BBC Science Interactive Body “Muscles”
- Discovery “Human Body Learning Experience”
- KidsHealth “Your Muscles”
- Tufts Medical Center “Anatomy Explorer”