Muscles and Tissues
Thursday, 7 November 2024 5:13 pm
Muscular tissue is made up of elongated cells containing myofibrils
• Actin and myosin are the proteins that make up the myofilaments (actin forms the thin filaments,
and myosin forms the thick filaments).
• Many myofilaments are organized together to form myofibrils.
• And these myofibrils are packed inside muscle cells (muscle fibers), allowing them to contract.
• Sarcomere = the contractile function until of the myofibril.
There are a total of three types of muscular tissues:
- Smooth (A)
○ These are made up of spindle shaped cells each being
○ Transverse reticular fibers (Transverse reticular fibers are a specific type of connective tissue
fiber found within the extracellular matrix, typically made of reticular collagen (type III collagen)
join the adjacent muscles cells and the bind the groups of into functional units.
○ Hormones can lead to an increase in the length or can cause the proliferation of the muscles
cells.
- Straited (B)
○ Structure of Striated Muscle (Skeletal Muscle):
Muscle cells (fibers) are large, ranging from 10-100 μm thick and up to 15 cm long.
Each cell contains multiple nuclei located beneath the cell surface, aligned along the
muscle fiber's length.
○ Striations:
Muscle fibers display visible striations due to organized myofibrils.
Striations consist of repeating segments called sarcomeres (the functional units of the
muscle).
Each sarcomere has:
□ I bands: Light, isotropic zones.
□ A bands: Dark, anisotropic zones, which contain:
H band: A lighter zone within the A band.
M line: A thin, dark line in the center of the H band.
□ Z lines: Delicate lines within the I bands marking sarcomere boundaries.
○ Sarcoplasm and Sarcosomes:
The cytoplasm of muscle cells, called sarcoplasm, contains:
□ Mitochondria (sarcosomes) for energy production.
○ Types of Muscle Fibers:
Twitch Muscle Fibers:
□ Red fibers (slow-twitch): High myoglobin and mitochondria content, suited for long-
term, endurance activities.
□ White fibers (fast-twitch): High myofibril content, suited for short bursts of intense
activity.
The muscle color is influenced by blood supply, myoglobin, water content, and the
abundance of fibrils:
□ Thicker fibers with more myoglobin appear darker.
□ Thinner fibers with fewer fibrils and less water content appear lighter.
○ Connective Tissue Structure:
Sarcolemma: Encloses each muscle fiber as a connective tissue sheath.
Endomysium: A thin layer of connective tissue between individual fibers.
Internal Perimysium: Surrounds several muscle fibers to form a primary muscle bundle
(fascicle).
External Perimysium: Connective tissue that groups multiple fascicles to form the
complete muscle.
○ Function and Control:
Striated skeletal muscles are voluntary muscles.
Innervation occurs via motor end plates (neuromuscular junctions), which allow for
conscious control of muscle contraction.
- Cardiac ©
○ They consist of a large amount of the sarcoplasm and form networks.
○ There are more sarcomeres and they are shorter and the I band if narrower than skeletal
muscles.
Classification of the skeletal muscles:
- All the skeletal muscles have an origin and an insertion
- Origin = less mobile, its always the proximal end in a limb; Insertion = more mobile, its always the
dital end in limbs.
- Origin --> muscle head --> merges into the belly of the muscle --> ends in a tendon.
- Different muscle shapes are distinguished according to the relationship of the muscle fibers to the
tendon .
○ Fusiform muscles:
They have long fibers and the produce a large amplitude movements.
The muscles have relatively short tendons.
○ Unipennate muscles:
This has long, continuous tendons and short muscle fibers are attached to this.
Anatomy Page 1
○ Fusiform muscles:
They have long fibers and the produce a large amplitude movements.
The muscles have relatively short tendons.
○ Unipennate muscles:
This has long, continuous tendons and short muscle fibers are attached to this.
This allows for a great muscle power.
○ Bipennate muscle:
They have the same structures as unipennate muscles but the fibres are attached to both
sides of the tendon
○ Multipennate muscle:
They have the same structure as bipennate muscles but the are attached to multiple
tendons.
- Types of muscle origins:
○ Two, three and four headed muscles.
○ The individual muscles heads fuse into a single muscle belly and terminate in a common
tendon. Eg: the biceps brachii = 2 heads; triceps brachii = 3 heads.
○ One head + two or more intermediate tendons = digastric or multigastric muscle.
Anatomy Page 2
