Locomotion and Movement: Introduction

Locomotion and Movement

Have you ever wondered how a dancer performs intricate dance steps or how a swimmer skillfully does a butterfly stroke? The muscles of our body work simultaneously with one another and with the skeletal system to perform the various movements. Our muscles have two functions: to generate motion and force. All these activities are controlled and coordinated by the skeletal, muscular and nervous system. The human body is capable of a wide range of movements from the gentle blinking of eye to running a 20 km marathon. Movement of organism from one place to another in search of food, shelter, mate and to escape from predators is called locomotion. Locomotion has evolutionary significance.