BioSci107

Lecture 4
Muscle and Nerve Tissue
2015

Objectives
Describe general features of muscle tissue
Understand location, structure, function

Describe general features of nervous

tissue
Understand the function of its component
cells.

The Tissues of the Body (iii):Muscle and Nervous

Muscle Tissue
Consists of elongated cells (muscle
fibres or myocytes) that use
energy from the hydrolysis of ATP
(adenosine triphosphate) to
generate force.

As a result of contraction, muscle tissue produces body

movements, maintains posture and generates heat.

Muscle Tissue
There are three types of muscle
comprising ~50% of the body tissue
mass:

i. Skeletal Muscle
ii. Cardiac Muscle
iii.Smooth Muscle
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i.

Skeletal Muscle
There are about 650 named skeletal muscles in
the body

Usually attached to bones via tendons.

Appear striated under the microscope.

Contraction is under conscious control

(voluntary; sometimes not always - posture)

Fibres (remember = cells) cylindrical

Stapedius

Smallest: 1.25 mm stapedius (in the ear;

prevent hyperacusis; Bells Palsy; facial n)
Longest: up to the 60 cm sartorius (Checking
for gum! : hip: flexor, abductor, lateral rotator;

knee: flexor).

*Hyperacusis stapedius n damage - extra loud sound perception.

Sartorius
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www.dbtechno.com

Skeletal Muscle Tissue

Note: cylindrical cells

Functions: Motion, Posture, Heat, Protection

Type
Location
Structure
Skeletal Attached to bones Long cells;
by tendons
Striated;
Multinucleate (many
peripheral nuclei pushed
to side)

Control
Voluntary

The striations of skeletal muscle fibres (cells) are due to the

highly organised arrangement of myofibrils within the cells
Myofibrils (2 m diam) more or less fill the cytoplasm (sarcoplasm)
of the muscle fibre and extend its entire length within the cell
Myofibrils are composed of two types of filaments (myofilaments):
Thin filaments: mostly actin; 8 nm diam; 1-2 m long
Thick filaments: myosin; 16 nm diam; 1-2 m long

Myofilaments do not extend the length of the muscle fibre, but

are arranged in compartments called sarcomeres
The sarcomere is the basic
functional unit of a myofibril
Z discs (Z lines) separate
sarcomeres
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Connective tissue of skeletal

muscle
Epimysium: surrounds
anatomical muscle
Perimysium: fascicles
Endomysium: muscle fibres
(cell)

The thick and thin filaments overlap to produce the striations:

A band: dark, middle part ; contains all the thick filaments
I band: thin filaments, but no thick filaments
H zone: thick filaments, but no thin filaments
M line: middle of sarcomere (holds thick filaments together)
Z disc: passes through centre of I band (between sarcomeres) made up of
actinins that link filaments of adjacent sarcomeres

Titin: links Z to M; provides resting

tension in I band, molecular spring

ii Cardiac Muscle
Striated. Branched.
Single central nucleus.
Fibres join end-to-end through intercalated discs.

Intercalated discs contain:

1. Desmosomes (bind intermediate filaments)
Provide adhesion in contraction
2. Gap junctions (communication)
(co ordinated; rapid conduction).

Desmosome

Gap junction

GJ

D
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Intercalated disc TEM

Cardiac Muscle Tissue

Still have actin and myosin

Type
Cardiac

Location
Heart

Structure
Striated; branched;
single central nucleus;
intercalated discs

Control
Involuntary
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iii. Smooth Muscle (no striations)

Located in the walls of hollow internal structures
e.g. intestines (peristalsis); blood vessel walls (constriction);
also : Iris of eye, reproductive; digestive; respiratory; urinary; skin
erector pili
Short, Small, spindle-shaped, about 30-200 m long; 3-8 m
thickest in the middle
Involuntary
Non-striated (smooth)
Single central nucleus

Single smooth muscle cell

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Generalised blood vessel

 Smooth muscle fibres are non-striated, but still have bundles of

thin (e.g. actin) and thick (e.g myosin) filaments.
Thin filaments (e.g. actin) attach to dense bodies, functionally
similar to Z discs. (Dense body: a major protein is Actinin).
Intermediate filaments (non-contractile elements) also connect
to dense bodies

During contraction tension is

transmitted to the
intermediate filaments (dont
contract), and the cell twists
as it contracts about these
stable rods.

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Smooth Muscle Tissue

Lots of gap junctions: e.g. gut;

Type
Smooth

Location
In the walls of hollow
internal structures
e.g. blood vessels,
intestines, skin

or no gap junctions: e.g Iris

Structure
Non-striated
(smooth);
single, central
nucleus

Control
Involuntary

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Nervous Tissue

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4. Nervous Tissue
Nervous tissue is the essential component of the nervous system.
The nervous system has two main subdivisions:
Central nervous system (CNS): brain and spinal cord
Peripheral nervous system (PNS): all nervous tissue outside CNS

The nervous system helps to:

maintain homeostasis (along with the endocrine system),
initiates voluntary movements
responsible for perception, behaviour and memory.

Activities grouped under three major functions:

i. Sensory: Detection of internal and external stimuli and transfer to CNS
ii. Integrative: analysis and storing of information
iii. Motor: stimulation of effectors (e.g. muscle and glands) through PNS i.e.
motor here means effector
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Nervous tissue consists of two types of cells:

neurons (nerve cells)
neuroglia (supportive cells).
Neurons are longest cells in body (up to 1m spinal cord to
toe)
Conscious and unconscious control

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Neurons
Have a cell body into which short, branched dendrites convey nerve
impulses (action potentials) and from which a longer, single axon
conducts nerve impulses to another neuron or tissue.

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Multipolar Neurons
Have 2 or more dendrites
and a single axon.
Most common neurons in
CNS
All motor neurons (control
skeletal muscle) are in
this class
Some of longest (spinal
cord to toe muscles)

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Bipolar Neurons
Two distinct processes
1 dendritic processes (can
branch at tip but not at cell
body)
And 1 axon

Has cell body between

axon and dendrite
Rare and small (30m)
Special sense organs
(sight, smell, hearing) relay
information from receptor
to neurons
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Unipolar Neuron
The dendrites and axon
are continuous
Cell body off to one side
Whole thing from where
dendrites converge called
axon
Most sensory nerves are
unipolar
Very long (1m) like motor
nerves CNS-toe tip.
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Anaxonic neuron
Rare and function
poorly understood
Anatomy cannot
distinguish dendrites
from axons
Found in brain and
special sense organs

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Neuroglia
Found in both CNS and PNS.
Make up about half the volume of the CNS (glue).
Smaller than neurons but more numerous (5-50x)
Do not propagate action potentials, but can communicate.
Can divide within the mature nervous system
Functions
Physical structure of nervous tissue
Repair framework of nervous tissue
Undertake phagocytosis
Nutrient supply to Neurons
Regulate interstitial fluid in neural tissue.
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Classification of Neuroglia
1. CNS Neuroglia
i.

Astrocytes:
a. Star-shaped; largest; most
numerous. Syncytium network.
b. Support (have microfilaments)
and repair (scar).
c. Communicate with neurons via
gliotransmitters e.g. glutamate
d. Maintain environment around
neuron by eg regulating ions.
e. Maintain blood-brain barrier via
endothelium. Wrap around vessels
and influence their permeability
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ii. Oligodendrocytes:
Form insulating multilayered
myelin sheath ( protein lipid
layer) around CNS axons. Can
myelinate more than one
neuron cells axon. Accelerate
the action potential.

iii. Microglia:
Phagocytic (resident
macrophages) - protection

Oligodendrocyte

Inactive microglia

http://drgominak.com

Active microglia

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IV. Ependymal cells:

Produce cerebrospinal fluid (CSF).
Line the CSF-filled ventricles in the brain and
the central canal of the spinal cord.
These single layer of predominantly cuboidal
cells have cilia (flow) and microvilli
(sampling).

Blausen.com staff

Martin Hasselblatt

Located in ventricles and in other locations

where CSF found.

Ependymal cells

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2. Peripheral Nervous System Neuroglia

i.

ii.

Schwann cells: form insulating myelin sheath around axons or can just
support and surround several non-myelinated axons. (Note: One schwann
cell per axon for myelination but more axons/cell if just support).
Satellite cells: surround neuron cell bodies. Support and fluid exchange
(equiv. to astrocytes in CNS).

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Myelinating Schwann

Non-Myelinating Schwann
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NOTE: Text Book Resources

Tortora and Derrickson:
(See lecture notes in Course guide)
Martini and Ober:

(See lecture notes in Course guide)

Image Acknowledgements: Various editions of these 2 text books above or Wikipedia (free
creative commons) were the sources for the images used in BioSci 107 Lectures 1-5 in 2015;
unless otherwise stated.

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