Muscular Tissue

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 Definition of Terms
• Fascicle Bundle of muscle fiber

• Myofibrils thread like structures w/

contractile function
• Myofilaments  finer structure inside myofibrils

• Epimysium  dense CT, surrounds whole muscle

• Perimysium  thinner covering around fascicle or
a bundle of muscle fiber
• Endomysium  delicate layer of reticular fibers
around each muscle fiber
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 Definition of Terms
• Sarcoplasm  cytoplasm of a muscle fiber
(acidophilic)
• Sarcolemma  plasma membrane of a muscle cell

• Sarcomeres  linear unit, basic functional unit

of myofibril
• Sarcosome  granules in the sarcoplasm (under
EM is actually mitochondria)
• Sarcoplasmic endoplasmic reticulum,
reticulum (SR) membranous sacs which encircles
each myofibril
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Muscular Tissues: General Characteristics:
1. Cells : elongated (called fibers)
2. Sarcoplasm: appears fibular
o due to myofibrils
3. Plasma membrane is called sarcolemma
o Sarcos = flesh
o Lemma = sheath
4. Acidophilic staining
5. Cells held together by loose areolar
Connective Tissue containing blood
vessels and nerves
6. Contraction depends on myofilaments
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Muscular Tissues: A. General Functions:
1. movement
o skeletal and smooth muscle aid in movement of
bones and fluids
2. posture maintenance
o skeletal muscles contract to maintain the body
position
3. joint stabilization
o tendons that cross over stabilize joint as the
muscle tone (constant low level contraction)
places tension on the tendon
4. heat generation
o muscular contractions generate heat influencing
body temperature
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 Muscular Tissues: B. Special Functions:
1. Able to contract (Contractility)
• when long cells shorten simultaneously, pulling force is
created, contracts the muscle reduce overall size then
cause movement or stabilization
2. Able to extend (Extensibility)
• at the end of contraction, muscle may return to
original length by relaxing or extending with the aid of
opposing muscle
3. Able to become excitable (Excitability)
• muscle cells respond to nerve impulses
4. Elasticity
• Recoils (back to it’s normal size) after stretch

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 Muscular Tissues: C. Composition
1. Muscle fibers-elongated cells
• epimysium- outermost layer, a sheath of
dense connective tissue (CT) externally
surrounds the entire muscle
• fascicles- bundles within the muscle
• perimysium- a sheath of fibrous CT
surrounding fascicles
• endomysium -a sheath of reticular fibers
surrounding the bundles within the fascicles
2. Loose areolar CT : intercellular substance
that held together muscle fibers
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 Organization of
Connective Tissues

Figure 10–18
 Types of Muscle Tissue
• Skeletal muscle/somatic
or striated voluntary muscles

• Cardiac muscle
striated involuntary muscles

• Smooth muscle/plain/visceral or
non-striated/involuntary muscles

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 Muscular Tissues:
Smooth, Cardiac, Skeletal

o Cells
o Fibers
o Function
o Distribution

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 Types of Muscle Tissue
Smooth: walls of hollow organs
•Lack striations
•Contractions are involuntary (not voluntary)

Cardiac: only in the wall of

the heart
•Cells are striated
•Contractions are
involuntary (not voluntary)

Skeletal
•Attach to and move skeleton
•40% of body weight
•Fibers = multinucleate cells (embryonic cells fuse)
•Cells obviously striated
•Contractions are voluntary

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 1. Smooth Muscle: Cells
• spindle or fusiform shaped
• not branched, no striations
• Cells somewhat compact in
arrangement
o very scanty intercellular
subs (has least amount of
Loose areolar CT)
• Few long slender
mitochondria
• Scanty ribosomes and ER
• Sarcolemma showing pinocytic
vesicles
• Single nucleus - bulging and
centrally located 12
 1. Smooth Muscle: Fibers

Myofibrils - non-striated
Myofilaments - not distinct

Involuntary (cannot consciously control movement)

Contraction- very slow and sustained
 Is very fatigue resistant
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 1. Smooth Muscle: Distribution
• mainly in the walls of hollow visceral organs
1. In blood vessels: walls of vein and arteries
o regulates blood pressure and flow
2. In reproductive and glandular systems:
o produces movements
3. In digestive and urinary systems:
o forms internal sphincters of anus
o produces contractions
4. In integumentary system:
o Arrestores pitorum or arrector pili muscles
• cause goose bumps
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1. Smooth Muscle: Distribution

6 major locations:
a. inside the eye
b. respiratory tubes
c. urinary organs
d. reproductive organs
e. digestive tubes
f. walls of vessels

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 1. Smooth Muscle: Distribution
• Lining of hollow visceral organs
• the walls of the digestive system ex. stomach,
bladder, respiratory passages
• Middle to lower part of esophagus
• Walls of ducts and glands associated with alimentary tract
• Walls of respiratory passages (trachea to alveolar ducts
urinary & genital ducts)
• Walls of arteries, veins & larger lymphatics
• Spleen
• Arrestores pitorum or arrector pili muscle (goose flesh)
• Iris & ciliary body of the eye concerned with accomodation,
constriction & dilation of pupil
• Areola of mammary gland
• Subcutaneous tissue of scrotum
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 1. Smooth Muscle: Functions
 to alter activity of various body parts to meet
needs of the body
1. Contraction of the bladder
2. Move food through the intestines (peristalsis)
3. Peristaltic movement to move feces down the
digestive system
4. Contraction of smooth muscle in the trachea and
bronchi w/c decreases the size of the airways
5. Constriction and dilation of blood vessels
6. Constriction, accomodation and dilation of pupil
7. Uterine contraction during birthing
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 2. Cardiac Muscle
• has characteristics of both
skeletal and smooth muscle
• Contractions lasts longer than
a skeletal muscle twitch
• Depends on aerobic
respiration to generate ATP
• Requires constant supply of
oxygen
• Is very fatigue resistant
• Activation of cardiac muscle
is involuntary (like smooth
muscle)
• Intercalated disks - 18
 Cardiac Muscle: Cell and fibers
Cells:
• single spherical centrally located nucleus
(Branches have no nucleus)
• With intercalated disk of Eberth: serves as
junction between cardiac cells
Fibers:
• elongated ,branches, w/ numerous areolar CT
• Myofibrils striated w/ distinct actin & myosin

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Cardiac Muscle: Distribution and Function

Distribution
o Muscle layer of the heart (myocardium)
o Walls of the aorta, vena cava and pulmonary
vessels

Functions
• to provide the contractile activity of the
heart

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 Cardiac Muscle: Function
Conduction System of the Heart
• A special function unit
• responsible for generating and conducting
electrical impulses for the heart
• cause heart to contract and pump blood
throughout the body
• Made up of 5 elements:
1. Sino-atrial (SA)
2. Atrio-ventricular (AV) node
3. Bundle of His
4. Left and right bundle branches
5. Purkinje fiber node
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1. Sinoatrial Node (Pacemaker, Node of Keith & Flack)
o Located below the epicardium at the junction of sup
vena cava & right atrium
Function: Regulates heart rate accdg.to body needs
2. Atrioventricular Node( Node of Tawara)
o Located below the endocardium, on the lower part of
the interatrial septum
Functions:
a. Delays cardiac impulses from sinoatrial node to
allow atria to contract and empty the contents first
b. Relays cardiac impulses to the atrioventricular
bundle

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3. Atrioventricular Bundle of His
o bundle of fibers located within the septum of
the hert
Function: Carries cardiac impulses down the
septum to ventricles via the Purkinje fibers
4. Left and right Bundle Branches
Function: The right bundle carries nerve impulses,
cause contraction of right ventricle
Left bundle carries nerve impulses that
cause contraction of left ventricle

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 Characteristics of Purkinje Fibers
5. Purkinje Fibers
o Located beneath the endocardium on either side of
the cardiac septum
Function: Relays cardiac impulses to ventricular cells
causing ventricle contraction

• Pale in color
• Fewer branches, nuclei, striations
• Bigger in diameter
• Shorter in size
• Lies in abundant amount of loose areolar connective
tissue

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 3. Skeletal Muscles
Somatic/ Striated Voluntary
• Are voluntary muscles that
move bones
• Are called striated because
they look striped
• Are attached to tendons,
which are attached to bones

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 3. Skeletal Muscle: Cells and Fibers
Cells
 elongated cells that do not branch
 w/ larger diameter
 Nucleus: appears multinucleated
 Flattened and peripherally located
Fibers
 Myofibrils are striated
 “Kollicker’s Column”: myofibrils grouped into parallel
bundles longitudinally
 W/ distinct myofilaments (actin & myosin)
 Moderate amount of Loose Areolar CT
 Without intercalated disk

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3 Types of Skeletal Fiber in Skeletal Muscle
1. Red Fibers (slow twitch high oxidative fibers)
o Appears red due to presence of muscle pigment
(Myoglobin)
o Have smaller diameter & sarcoplasm (about half
the diameter of fast fibers)
o Contain numerous large sarcosomes
o Rich blood supply > higher oxygen supply
o Red Muscle: According to function, contracts more
slowly so fatigue less quickly (running)
• take ~3x as long to reach peak tension after
stimulation
o many mitochondria
o Energy source: oxidative phosphorylation
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2. White Fibers / Fast Muscle Fibers
o Larger diameter
o Pale due to less pigment (Less myoglobin)
o With smaller, functional sarcosome
o Poor blood supply
o Contracts faster so fatigue more quickly
o Energy source: anaerobic glycolysis (w/ large
glycogen reserves
o most common
o reach peak twitch tension in 0.01 sec or less after
stimulation
o contain densely packed myofibrils
o very few mitochondria
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3. Intermediate Fibers
o Similar with red fibers but with smaller
sarcosome
o Speed of contraction is comparable to that
of the white fibers

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 Microscopic Anatomy of Skeletal Muscle
• Myoblasts
- embryonic cells that fuse to develop muscle fibers
• Myosatellite cells
- unfused cells that remain in adult skeletal muscle
• Fascia
- Dense sheet or broad band of irregular connective
tissue that surrounds muscles
• Sarcolemma
- plasma membrane of a muscle fiber surrounding the
sarcoplasm (cytoplasm) containing mitochondria, and
myofibrils

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• Sacroplasmic reticulum (SR)
- transverse tubule encircling a myofibril, storing
calcium for muscle contraction
• Myofibrils
- cylindrical bundles of myofilaments (two types)
- lie parallel to one another
- responsible for muscle fiber contraction
• Myofilaments
- protein filaments
(organization of these produce alternating
light/dark bands)
thin: composed primarily of actin
thick: composed primarily of myosin
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• Sarcomeres
- repeating functional units of
myofilaments responsible for muscle
contraction
- approximately 10,000 end to end in a
myofibril
- contain: thick/thin filaments,
proteins
- differences in size, density, and
distribution account for the banded
appearance
- dark bands (A bands) and light bands
(I bands)
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 Skeletal Muscle:Myofibrils
• Z discs/Z band (telophragma)
o Separate one sarcomere from the next
o Thick and thin filaments overlap one another
• A band (Anisotropic)
o Darker middle part of the sarcomere
o Thick and thin filaments overlap
• I band (isotropic)
o Lighter, has thin filaments but no thick filaments
o Z discs passes through the center of each I band
• H zone/H band (intermediate disc of Hensen)
o Center of each A band which contains thick but no
thin filaments
• M line/M band (Mesophragma)
o Supporting proteins that hold the thick filaments
together in the H zone
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 Skeletal Muscle Tissue
• Muscle Proteins
o Myofibrils are built from three kinds of
proteins
1. Contractile proteins
• Generate force during contraction
2. Regulatory proteins
• Switch the contraction process on and off
3. Structural proteins
• Align the thick and thin filaments properly
• Provide elasticity and extensibility
• Link the myofibrils to the sarcolemma

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 Skeletal Muscle Tissue

1. Contractile Proteins
a. Myosin
o Thick filaments
o Functions as a motor protein which can
achieve motion
o Convert ATP to energy of motion
o Projections of each myosin molecule
protrude outward (myosin head)

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 Skeletal Muscle Tissue
1. Contractile Proteins
b. Actin
o Thin filaments
o Actin molecules provide a site where myosin
head attach
o Tropomyosin and troponin also part of the
thin filament
o In relaxed muscle
o Myosin is blocked from binding to actin
o Strands of tropomyosin cover the myosin-
binding sites
o Ca ion binding to troponin moves tropomyosin
away from myosin-binding sites
o Allows muscle contraction to begin as myosin
binds to actin 39
 Skeletal Muscle Tissue
2. Structural Proteins
a. Titin
• Stabilize the position of myosin
• accounts for much of the elasticity and
extensibility of myofibrils
b. Dystrophin
• Links thin filaments to the sarcolemma

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 Skeletal Muscle: Contraction Theory
Sliding Theory of Huxley
• Muscle fiber is stimulated to contract
• actin and myosin filaments react by past sliding by
each other but w/ no change of length
o Thick myosin strand in A band is stationary
o Thin actin filament attached to Z discs extend further
into A band
o May eventually obliterate the H line
o The thin filaments attached to Z disc drawn toward
each other
o Sarcomeres are compressed, myofibrils shortened and
contraction occurs
o Note: contraction occur not because of shortening but
due to increase in the overlap b/w filaments

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 3. Skeletal Muscle: Distribution

• widely distributed
o attached to entire skeletal system of the
body (external urethra & external anal
sphincter)
• tongue & upper part of the esophagus
o although unattached to the skeletal
system, it is classified as striated voluntary
o lower part is involuntary in nature

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 Muscular Tissues
Characteristics Skeletal Muscle Cardiac Muscle Smooth
Muscle
Location attached to walls of heart walls of hollow
skeleton visceral organs
Type of Control Voluntary Involuntary Involuntary
Shape of Fibers Elongated Elongated Elongated
Cylindrical Cylindrical Spindle-
Blunt ends Branched shaped
Pointed ends
Striations Yes Yes None
# of nuclei per Multiple One, central One, central
fiber
Speed of Rapid Intermediate Slowest
contraction
Ability to remain Least Intermediate Greatest
contracted 43
Thank you!!!

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