Exercise #12

Muscular Tissue

Results
A. Draw and label the observations in the space provided

Skeletal Muscle

Visceral (smooth) Muscle

 Cardiac Muscle

B. Answer the following questions.

1. How do the three types of muscles differ based on their structures?

Each type of muscle tissue in the human body has a unique structure and a specific
role.
 Skeletal muscle attach to and moves bones and other structures by contracting
and relaxing in response to voluntary messages from the nervous system.
Skeletal muscle tissue is composed of long cells called muscle fibers that have a
striated appearance. Muscle fibers are organized into bundles supplied by blood
vessels and innervated by motor neurons.
 Cardiac muscle contracts the heart to pump blood. Cardiac muscle is made from
cells called cardiocytes, like skeletal muscle cells cardiocytes have a striated
appearance, but their overall structure is shorter and thicker.
 Smooth muscle tissue is found in the walls of hollow organs throughout the body
that forms organs like the stomach and bladder it changes shape to facilitate
bodily functions. Smooth muscle contractions are involuntary movements
triggered by impulses that travel through the autonomic nervous system to the
smooth muscle tissue.
 2. Why do muscle cells have more mitochondria than other cells like the skin cells?
The number of mitochondria within a cell differs based on the organism, tissue type, or
cell type. Cells that are more active and/or move more will require a greater energy
produced via cellular respiration. Therefore, cells that are more active usually contain
more mitochondria than cells that are not as active. Since muscle cells are required for
the movement of an organism, they will have more mitochondria than skin cells.