Strongest Muscle in the Human Body

Muscles are contractile tissues of the animal body that are formed from the mesodermal layer of the embryonic germ cells. In the human body, there are three types of muscles found, the cardiac, smooth and skeletal muscles. Let us understand a bit about these types of muscles, before finding the answer for what is the strongest muscle in the human body.

Types of Muscles

The cardiac muscles as the name suggests are muscles of the heart. These cardiac muscles make up the walls of the heart. Cardiac muscles carry out the function of forced contraction of the heart for pumping blood in and out throughout the body. You can read more on cardiac muscle structure and cardiac muscle function.

The smooth muscles are those that make up the walls of the blood vessels, uterus, intestines and the internal muscles of the eye. The skeletal muscles are those muscles that are connected to the skeletal system of the human body. These muscles are present near the bones and the areas of the skin like the facial muscles. The skeletal muscle contraction helps in movement of the limbs and other parts of the body.

Which is the Strongest Muscle in the Body?

Each muscle has a role to play and there are over 630 muscles in the body. Some muscles are present individually and some form a group of muscles. Some muscles are over a billion in number and the cardiac muscles are restricted to just the heart. So what is the strongest muscle and how can one measure its strength?

One cannot come to a single answer, as to which is the strongest muscle. One can measure strength based on different parameters that include maximum force (absolute strength), repeated motion (dynamic strength), exertion of force quickly (elastic strength), ability to withstand fatigue (strength endurance). Let us discuss the answer to which is the strongest muscle based on the above mentioned parameters.

Strongest Muscle Relative to its Size
The largest muscle in the human body is the gluteus maximus or the buttocks. It is a powerful muscle as it helps keep the upper body upright. If there is not enough strength in the gluteus maximus, it may cause people to slump forward or list to one side instead of standing straight. This makes the gluteus mazimus the strongest muscle relative to its size.

Another contender for the title relative to its size is the tongue. The tongue is made up of groups of muscles and is always continuously working like the heart. It binds and contorts to help us speak. It also contains linguinal tonsils that help keep out microorganisms. Even in ones sleep, the tongue is busy pushing down the saliva down the throat.

Experiment: Try placing your index finger on your tongue and force it down. You will find your tongue will exert counter force and will invariably win the tug of war, thus making it one of the relatively small singular muscle that can be called the strongest muscle relative to its size.

Strongest Muscle Relative to its Strength
Muscular strength is the ability of a muscle to exert force to an external object. When considering this parameter, the muscle that fits the bill is the masseter or jaw muscle. The masseter works against a shorter lever arm compared to other muscles making it one of the strong muscle in the human body. The masseter entered the Guinness Book of Records in 1992 as the strongest muscle with an achievement of a bite strength of 4,337 N (975 lb_f) for 2 seconds.

Strongest Muscle Relative to its Weight
Another parameter that can be considered is the 'pound for pound' or weight of the exerted by a shorter muscle compared to a longer muscle. This parameter makes the myometrial layer of the uterus, a strong muscle. This achievement is based on the ability of the uterus that weighs only 1.1 kg (40 oz) to deliver an infant. This 1.1 kg uterus can exert a force of 100 to 400 N (25 to 100 lb_f) of downward force with each contraction.

Strongest Muscle Relative to its Size and Weight
The external muscles of the eye are large and strong when compared to the eyeball size and weight. These muscles are said to be '100 times stronger than they need to be'. When reading a book, the eye muscles make over 10,000 coordinated movements. Eye muscles also constantly adjust the position of the eye and can fix the eye vision to a steady point. During sleep, the eye muscles exercise themselves by carrying out rapid eye movement to be ready for a stressful and straining day ahead.

Strongest Muscle Relative to its Power
The muscle in the body that is working continuously to keep one alive is the heart. It pumps 71 grams of blood every heartbeat. It also pumps about 2,500 gallons (9,450 liters) of blood throughout the day. The heart can exert a power output of about 1 to 5 watts. The power output of the heart is less compared to other muscles of the body. But this power output is continuous for life without a single pause. This makes the heart the strongest muscle, relative to its power output.

Strongest Muscle Relative to its Force
Force is another parameter that can help determine the strongest muscle of the body. The muscle that pulls with the greatest force is the gastrocnemius (calf muscle). The calf muscles help us walk, run, dance, etc. These muscles are the contenders for the strongest muscle relative to their force, as they keep the body upright against the force of gravity. These muscles also prevent people from falling backwards.

These are a few parameters that help determine the strongest muscle in the human body. As you can see, there is not a single muscle that can be called as a strong muscle. Each muscle performs individual functions to help the body function as one unit. I hope this article has helped you learn some information related to muscles and their strenght.