Smooth muscle is called involuntary because it is innervated by nerves that do not require conscious thought to perform action potentials to move the muscle

Biology May 27, 2021

Smooth muscle is called involuntary because it is innervated by nerves that do not require conscious thought to perform action potentials to move the muscle.

For example, you don't have to think about beating your heart, contracting your diaphragm to breathe, or moving food through the GI tract. These are all examples of involuntary muscles.