Lamentations

I want get up from my desk, run out of the room, and scream down the hallway.  I am sure that security would be called, and considering I am proctoring an exam, right now, I can't do that.  But be sure that inside my brain, that event is happening.  I'm out of the building, jogging on the concrete, letting the wind whip through my hair.  The farther I can get from this class, the better.

Ah.  I feel a bit more balanced already.  What tipped me, you ask?  The following:

Question 5:  The cell membrane of a muscle fiber is known as the:
a. Sarcoplasm
b. Plasmalemma
c. Cell wall
d. Sarcolemma

If you've ever taken a bio course, the word sarcoplasm might stand out to you.  You might think back and say, we'll I've heard of cytoplasm, which is found inside of a cell.  Even though I don't really know what sarcoplasm is, based on the similarity, I won't choose it.  A cell membrane is found outside or surrounding the cell, not inside.  Well, if you had that conversation in your head, then congratulations.  You are smarter than my class.  The same class that sat through my lectures and heard me mention that the plasma membrane of the muscle fiber has a special name.  It is the sarcolemma.  By the way, sarco means flesh.  That should make sense, as we're talking about muscle.

That one really isn't what did me in, though.  When I got to the next page, I shuddered: 

Question 9:  The smallest contractile unit of muscle is the:
a. Myofibril
b. Sarcomere
c. Myosin filament
d. Actin filament

I admit, this one might be tougher for you.  But in class, when I taught the hierarchy of muscle, I said (and I know this because I say it every time):   We are looking at the sarcomere.  It is made of myofilaments, and it is the smallest contractile unit of muscle.  I am going to repeat that, because everyone gets it wrong on the exam.  The sarcomere is the smallest contractile unit of muscle.  

So you see why I am mentally out of here right now.  I'm thinking on running by the river and just tossing the whole set of exams into it.