Muscle Tissue

Characteristics of Muscle: 1. Excitability ability to respond to stimuli 2. Contractility ability to shorten forcefully 3. Extensibility ability to stretch 4. Elasticity ability to resume resting length after contraction 5. Tonicity- ability to maintain a steady partial contraction

Functions of Muscle: 1. Produce movement Locomotion/manipulation (skeletal) Blood pressure (cardiac) Propulsion ( smooth) 2. Maintain posture or body position 3. Support soft tissues (abdominal muscles) 4. Guard entrance/exit (lips, anus) 5. Store nutrients

Skeletal muscles are not ripped apart as they exert force because thousands of their fibers are bundled together by connective tissue, which provides strength and support to the muscle as a whole. Each muscle fiber is enclosed in a delicate connective tissue sheath called an endomysium Several sheathed muscles are then wrapped by a coarser fibrous membrane called a perimysium to form a bundle of fibers called a fascicle Many fascicles are bound together by an even tougher overcoat of connective tissue called an epimysium, which covers the entire muscle The epimysia blend into the strong, cordlike tendons, or into sheetlike aponeuroses which attach muscles indirectly to bones, cartilages, or CT coverings of each other

 The entire muscle is surrounded by an external connective tissue wrapping called the epimysium Skeletal muscle is made up of fascicles which are bundles of individual muscle cells Each fascicle is surrounded by a connective tissue called perimysium Each individual muscle fiber inside the fasciculus is enveloped by a thin fibrous cT capsule called endomysium
Epimysium

fascicle Perimysium

epimysium

Muscle cell Endomysium Perimysium

Fascicle

Muscle fiber (cell) - functional unit of muscle Sarcolemma - cell membrane of muscle cell Sarcoplasm - cytoplasm of the muscle fiber Transverse Tubules - network of passageways through fiber - continuous with outside of cell Sarcoplasmic Reticulum - specialized endoplasmic reticulum - contain calcium ions (Ca++) [40,000x] compared to cytoplasm

Terminal cisternae - sac like region of SR - reservoir of calcium ions Myofibrils - cylindrical structures containing contractile fibers Triad - 3 unit group consisting of 1 T tubule lying between 2 adjacent terminal cisternae
The interconnecting tubules and sacs of the SR surround each and every myofibril as the sleeve of a loosely crocheted sweater surrounds your arm The major role of this elaborate system is to store calcium and to release it on demand when muscle fiber is stimulated to contract

Myofibrils - contractile elements of the skeletal muscle Sarcomere - basic structural and functional unit of skeletal muscle A band - dark central region in the sarcomere - made up of overlapping myosin and actin myofilament I band - light band in the sarcomere - made up of actin myofilament H zone - light zone at the center of the sarcomere M line - dark staining band Z disk - network of protein fibers forming an attachment site for actin myofilament

Types of Muscle Tissue: 1.Smooth Muscle 2. Skeletal Muscle 3. Cardiac Muscle

Muscle Tissue Tissue with cells having fibers specialized for contraction. Skeletal Muscle (Striated, voluntary) Parallel elongated cells (fibers) multinucleated and each cell is the length of the muscle attached to the skeleton Smooth Muscle (Visceral, involuntary) Cells are long and tapered (spindle) Organized into sheets of muscle Centrally located nucleus Cardiac Muscle Intercalated discs Branched Striated

* Skeletal Muscle 1000X striations across muscle fiber

nucleus long parallel fibers

Skeletal Muscle
Attached to the bones and cartilages voluntary muscle; nervous system consciously controls the contraction striated due to alternate light and dark bands Multinucleated, peripheral

Smooth Muscle 400X intestinal wall

Smooth muscle
involuntary, contract in response to stimulation of ANS spindle shaped mono-nucleated, central arranged in parallel pattern forming sheets

* Smooth Muscle (teased) 400X

nucleus

spindle shape cell

* Cardiac Muscle 1000X

striations

nucleus

intercalated disc

short branching cells; intercalated discs at cell junctions

Cardiac Muscle
found in the heart and in the roots of large blood vessels arising from the heart

Striated but apparently branched mononucleated Specialized to contract automatically and rhythmically most characteristic feature: intercalated discs intercalated discs (specialized cell junctions that allow fibers to interlock for greater strength during contraction ; also provide ionic continuity betweencent cells

Cardiac muscle