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Questions and Answers
What is a characteristic of striated or skeletal muscle?
Which statement accurately describes smooth muscle?
What structure is unique to cardiac muscle?
How do muscle fibers of skeletal muscle primarily differ in shape from those of smooth muscle?
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What is the typical diameter of a smooth muscle cell?
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What type of muscle is characterized by rhythmic contractions and intercalated discs?
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Which type of muscle is not under voluntary control?
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What is a common function of striated muscles?
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Study Notes
Muscle Groups
- There are three main types of muscle tissue: striated or skeletal, non-striated or smooth or visceral, and cardiac.
Striated/Skeletal Muscle
- Responsible for moving limbs and maintaining posture.
- Attached to bones by tendons and contains blood vessels and nerves.
- Each muscle fibre has a long cylindrical shape, measuring between 0.02 and 0.08 mm in diameter.
- The arrangement of muscle fibres depends on the function of the muscle.
Non Striated/Smooth/Visceral Muscle
- Found in soft tissue structures, like the walls of blood and lymphatic vessels, the alimentary canal.
- Responsible for contracting and relaxing to move fluids and solids within these structures.
- Can sustain contraction for long periods of time.
- Cells are long, narrow, and spindle-shaped.
- Under the autonomic nervous system.
Cardiac Muscle
- Found only in the wall of the heart.
- Exhibits rhythmic contractions to pump blood.
- Under the autonomic nervous system and has an intrinsic pacemaker system.
- Possesses intercalated discs, which allow for coordinated contraction.
- Each fibre is roughly rectangular in shape.
Comparison of Muscle Types
- Striated muscle: Voluntary control, long cylindrical fibres, contraction for short periods.
- Smooth muscle: Involuntary control, spindle-shaped fibres, sustained contraction for long periods.
- Cardiac muscle: Involuntary control, rectangular fibres, rhythmic contraction.
Comparisons Microscopically
- Striated muscle: Fibres are striated, containing multiple nuclei.
- Smooth muscle: Fibres are smooth, with one centrally placed nucleus.
- Cardiac muscle: Fibres are striated, with one or two centrally placed nuclei and intercalated discs.
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