Histology Department

Medical Faculty
Lampung University
Muscle tissue is composed of
differentiated cells containing contractile
proteins to force cellular contraction
and drive movement

• From mesodermal
• Divided :
Skeletal muscle
Cardiac muscle
Smooth muscle
 Skeletal Muscle
• Composed of muscle fibers surrounded by
connective tissue
• Very long bundle
• Long > 30 cm, Ø 10 – 100 μm
• Multinucleated
• Oval nuclei, periphery, under the cell membrane
• Contraction : quick,
forceful, voluntary
Skeletal Muscle

Based on their morphologic, histochemical & biochemical

characteristics :
1. Red muscle (Type I)
Slow & continuous contraction
Small fibers
Large myofibril
Rich in myoglobin (red)
Numerous mitochondria
energy from oxidative phosphorilation of fatty acids
(aerobic)
small & simple motor-end-plate
Resistant to fatique
Eg:
 soleus muscle
 Breast muscle of birds
Skeletal Muscle

2. White muscle (Type II b)

Rapid discontinuous contraction
Large fibers
Less myoglobin (white)
Small diameter myofibril
Few mitochondria
energy from anaerobic glycolysis
bigger axon
Skeletal Muscle

3. intermediate muscle (II a)

Rapid continuous contraction
Rich myoglobin
energy from oxidative
phosphorilation of fatty acids
anaerobic glycolysis
 Organization of Skeletal Muscle
Epimysium :
• Entire muscle
• Dense connecting tissue

Perimysium :
• bundle of muscle

Endomysium :
• Each muscle fibers
• Basal lamina & reticular
fibers
Organization of Skeletal Muscle Fibers

• A band : Anisotropic (dark)

• I band : Isotropic (light)
• Z line : protein αlpha actinin  to anchor
actin filaments
• H band : rod-like portions of the
myosin molecules
• M line : creatin kinase
Organization of Skeletal Muscle Fibers

Sarcomere : the smallest

repetitive subunit of the
contractile apparatus
from z line – z line

Myofibril :
Cylindrical filamentous
bundles
Ø : 1 – 2 μm
Cohnheim area
Organization of Skeletal Muscle Fibers

Thick filament
long : 1,6 μm, wide : 15 nm
Thin filament
long : 1,0 μm, wide : 8 nm

Each thick filament surrounded by six

thin filament in the form of a hexagon
Organization of Skeletal Muscle Fibers

Protein :
1. Actin
• F-actin polymers consisting of 2 strands of
G-actin double helical formation
• Ø 5,6 nm
• Contains binding site for myosin
Organization of Skeletal Muscle Fibers

2. Tropomyosin
• Thin molecules, 40 nm in length
• Contain two polypeptide chains
• Run over the actin subunits along side
the outer edges of the groove between
2 twisted actin strands
Organization of Skeletal Muscle Fibers

3. Troponin
• Complex of 3 subunits
• TnT : attaches to tropomyosin
• TnC : binds calcium ions
• TnI : inhibit actin-myosin interaction
Organization of Skeletal Muscle Fibers

4. Myosin
• Larger complex
• 2 identical heavy chains & 2 pairs of light chain
• Myosin heavy chain : thin, rod-like molecules, 2 heavy
chains twisted together
• Small globular projections at one end of each heavy
chain  form the head of myosin  ATP binding site
• 4 light chain associated
with the head
• Body of myosin : Tail
• Head and part of the tail (arms)
 cross bridge
• The center of myosin
 has only body no head
 Sarcoplasmic Reticulum & Transverse
Tubule System

• Depolarization of sarcoplasmic reticulum

 release of ca2+ ions
• Transverse (T) tubule : finger-like
invagination of sarcolemma  encircle
the boundaries of the A-I band of each
sarcomere
• Terminal cisternae of the sarcoplasmic
reticulum
Sarcoplasmic Reticulum & Transverse Tubule System

• Triad : T tubule + 2 lateral portion of

sarcoplasmic reticulum

Depolarization of the sarcolemma 

T tubule  transmitted to the
sarcoplasmic reticulum membrane
Sarcoplasmic Reticulum & Transverse Tubule System

• Depolarization : Ca2+ ions within

sarcoplasmic reticulum cisternae are
passively release bind to troponin C
bridging between actin – myosin
head
• Depolarization end : sarcoplasmic
reticulum act as a calcium sink &
actively transport the Ca2+ back into the
cisternae
 Mechanism of contraction

• Sliding filament hypothesis

Influx Ca2+ Bind to TnC of troponin

Tropomyosin go deeper into Configuration of

the groove of the actin helix troponin change

Exposes myosin-binding site on globular actin component

Bridging between myosin head & G-actin subunit

Movement of myosin head pulls actin past the

myosin filament

Thin filament drawn further into the A band

 Innervation

• Myelinated motor nerves brach out within the

perimycium
• Loses its myelin sheats
• Motor end-plate or myoneural junction 
dilated termination within a trough on the
muscle cells surface
• In the axon : mitochondria ++, synaptic
vesicles ++ contain acetylcholine
• Synaptic cleft : between axon and the muscle
 amorphous basal lamina matrix
Innervation

• Junctional fold
• Bellow junctional fold
–Several nuclei
–Mitochondria ++
–Ribosomes ++
–Glicogen granula ++
Innervation
Innervation

Action potential Release of Ca2+

Acetylcholine liberate Sarcoplasmic

from axon reticulum

Bind to acetylcholine Propagated via

receptors in sarcolemma T tubule

Sarcolemma more Membrane

permeable to sodium depolarization
Innervation

• Motor unit : a single nerve fiber & all

the muscle it innervates
• The number of motor units & the
variable size of each unit can control
the intensity of a muscle contraction
 System of Energy Production

• mostly : ATP & phosphocreatine

• glycogen depots
• fatty acids
 Other Components of the Sarcoplasm

• Glycogen : depot of energy

• Myoglobin : oxygen-storing pigment
• Rich rough endoplasmic reticulum
(sarcoplasmic reticulum) and ribosomes
 Cardiac Muscle

• Elongated, branched individual cells that lie

parallel to each others
• Contraction : involuntary, vigorous, rhythmic
• Ø 15 μm, length 85 – 100 μm
• 1 – 2 nuclei, central
Striated cardiac muscle differs from
striated skeletal muscle

• Cardiac fibers are shorter, branch, join

each other end to end, end to side, side
to side  forming sheets
• Junction between muscle fibers called
intercalated disks
• Nucleus are centrally
• Contract spontaneously
 Cardiac muscle

• Intercalated disks
• Interfiber junction  stain more heavily
• Appear to cross cardiac fibers stepwise at irregular
intervals  a transverse portion and a lateral portion
• Junctional complexes at the interface between adjacent
cardiac muscle cells
Fasciae adherentes :
anchoring site for actin
filaments
Maculae adherentes
(desmosomes) : bind the
cardiac cells together
Gap junction : Provide ionic
continuity between adjacent
cells
 Functional Architecture of Fibers
• Sarcolemma
• More mitochondria, large and long
• Less developed sarcoplasmic reticulum
• More lipid
• Less glycogen
• More myoglobin
• Contract more slowly
• One or two euchromatic nuclei
• Myofibril around the nuclear region
• In older individuals : lipofuscin pigment
• T tubules  at Z line, larger
• Diads : 1 T tubule + 1 sarcoplasmic
reticulum cisternae
• Innervations : autonomic nerve
 Smooth Muscle
• Fusiform cells, single
nucleus in the
center
• 20 – 500 µm
• Striation (-)
• Involuntary
• T-tubule (-)
Smooth Muscle
• Bundle of myofilaments crisscross
oblique join the sarcolemma
Thin filaments : 5 – 7 nm,
Actin – tropomyosin  are
joined to dense bodies
sarcoplasma
Thick filaments : 12 – 16 nm
Myosin
Dense bodies  same function as
z lines
Desmin  an intermediate
filament is found in dense bodies

• Contract by sliding filaments

mechanism
The force generated from the
dense bodies to the sarcolemma
 Mechanism of Contraction
• The level of calcium ion in the cytosol control the contraction of
smooth muscle
• Influx calcium ion
• Binding calcium ion to calmodoline
• Myosin light chain kinase activated
• Phosphorylation one myosin light chain  unfolding of the light
meromyosin  unmasks the myosin’s active binding site
• Interaction actin & myosin  contraction

Phosporylation occur slowly  causing contraction to occur slowly

Intermediate filament course throughout the cytoplasm of smooth
muscle fibers  links the dense bodies in the sarcoplasm
Contraction and relaxation regulated by hormones via cyclic AMP :
• cAMP  increase myosin light-chain kinase activated  myosin
phosphorylated  contracts
Smooth Muscle

• Visceral smooth muscle :

Rich gap junction
Poor nerve supply
Walls of hollow viscera
• Multiunit smooth muscle :
Rich nerve supply
Can produce precise & graded contraction
Iris of the eyes

• Can synthesize collagen, elastin &

proteoglicans
 Regeneration of Muscle Tissue
• Cardiac muscle :
No regeneration capacity beyond early
childhood
Replaced by the proliferation of connective
tissue myocardial scars
• Skeletal muscle : limited degeneration
satellite cells
• Smooth muscle : active regeneration