BIOC21 Vertebrate Histology

Muscle
Lecture 6

Slideshow 1 & Midterm

Slideshow Test 1

Mon Oct 22
1 hour long
Surnames: A to L (inclusive) start at 5pm
Surnames: M to Z (inclusive) start at 6pm
50 questions (M/C & fill-in-blanks)

Midterm

Mon Oct 29
2 hours long
M/C, fill-in-blanks, Short Answer, Long Answer

** Both tests cover materials from

lectures 1 to 6 (inclusive)

Muscle Basics

Muscle

Terminology &
Hierarchy are
Important.

Terminology & Hierarchy

Myofilament actual protein fiber
thick myofilament Myosin
thin myofilament Actin

4th ed
Fig 10.3

5th & 6th ed

Fig 11.2
Fig 11.4

Myofibril bundle of myofilaments end-to-end arrangement

Myocyte (Muscle fiber) muscle cell containing many
bundles of myofibrils
Older Terminology (still in use in some places)

Sarcosome muscle cell

Sarcoplasm cytoplasm of the muscle cell
Sarcolemma plasma membrane
Sarcoplasmic Reticulum Endoplasmic Reticulum

Composition of Muscle
Cells
Fibroblasts
Myoblasts (immature/growing muscle cells)
Myocytes (Muscle Fibers)
Purkinje Fibers
Extracellular Matrix
Collagen type I
Reticular fibers
Sometimes elastic fibers

Properties of Muscle
Contractility
ability to contract (develop tension)

Excitability (Irritability)
ability to respond to a stimulus

Extensibility
ability to be stretched

Elasticity
ability to recoil to normal length

The Sarcomere
The Sarcomere
Functional unit of muscle
I band pale staining band
A band dark staining band
Z line dark line bisecting the
I band
forms outer borders of
sarcomeres
H band dark band bisecting
the A band
4th ed
Fig 10.3
Fig 10.4
Fig 10.5
Fig 10.6

5th & 6th ed

Fig 11.4
Fig 11.5
Fig 11.6
Fig 11.7

Muscle
Contraction

Muscle Contraction
See textbook for arrangement of T-tubules and
terminal cisternae
4th ed
Fig 10.10

5th & 6th ed

Fig 11.11

T-tubule is depolarized
Fig 11.8
forms a Triad in Skeletal muscle Fig 10.7
forms Diad in Cardiac muscle
Fig 10.14
Fig 11.15
Terminal cisternae release Calcium into sarcoplasm
Actin is released and can bind to Myosin
Contraction occurs
Calcium is taken up by sarcoplasmic reticulum

Muscle Types

Types of Muscle
Divided into three muscle types:
Smooth Muscle
Striated Muscle
Skeletal Muscle
Cardiac Muscle
Classification is mostly based on the appearance
of striations and location in the body

Striated Muscle 4

ed
Fig 10.2
th

5th & 6th ed

Fig 11.3

Found in:
Attached to the skeletal system (Skeletal Muscle)
Tongue
Controlled by somatic motor nerves - voluntary
Responsible for short controlled contractions
Can become tired
Tissue has some regenerative capacity
Cells are non-mitotic
in mature individuals muscle growth occurs by
hypertrophy

Skeletal Muscle

Striated Muscle
Cells are cigar-shaped, multinucleated and very long
Cells have visible striations due to very regular
arrangement of myofibrils
Nuclei are eccentric
Myofibrils are arranged in bundles to form
Cohnheim's fields
Triads are located at A/I junctions

Longitudinal Section

Organization of Striated Muscle

Individual Muscle fibers are surrounded by an
endomysium
Bundles of muscle fibers are surrounded by a
perimysium
Bundles of muscle fibers are called fascicles
A Bundle of fascicles makes up a muscle and is
surrounded by an epimysium
4th ed
Fig 10.2
Fig 10.3

5th & 6th ed

Fig 11.2
Fig 11.3
Fig 11.4

Cross Section

Cardiac Muscle
4th ed
Fig 10.13
Fig 10.15

5th & 6th ed

Fig 11.14
Fig 11.16

Found in:
Heart
Involuntary, controlled by autonomic nervous system
Highly vascularized
Responsible for slow, sustained, regular contraction
Tissue has no regenerative capacity
Cells are amitotic

Cardiac Muscle

Cells are striated and branched

Nucleus is large, rounded and centrally located
Myofibrils leave an empty space near the nucleus
Very abundant large mitochondria, cause the
striations to be less obvious under LM
Cells are attached to one another by junctional
complexes
The regions with these junctions are called
intercalated disks

Purkinje Fiber

5th & 6th ed Fig 13.7

4th & 5th ed Plate 21
6th ed
Plate 25

Large, modified cardiac muscle fiber

1-2 centrally-located nuclei
Clear region around the nucleus
Contains myofibrils around the periphery
Branches off from bundle branches of the bundle of
His
Found within endocardium just underneath the
endothelium
Conducts impulses 4x faster than a regular cardiac
muscle fiber
Controls heart muscle contraction

Purkinje Fibers

Purkinje fibers
(the red lines)

Smooth Muscle
4th ed
Fig 10.16
Fig 10.19

5th & 6th ed

Fig 11.18
Fig 11.22

Found in:
lining of majority of digestive tract
lining blood vessels
skin
Controlled by autonomic nervous system
Responsible for slow, sustained, regular contraction
does not get tired
Least specialized type
Tissue is capable of regeneration
Cells are capable of mitosis

Smooth Muscle
Cells are eosinophilic and fusiform in shape
Cells are non-striated but have the same type of
myofilaments as other muscle types
different arrangement
Cells are connected by gap junctions
Nucleus is elongated, light-staining and central