Muscle Tissue

Al Maarefa College

Objectives• Identify basic structure of Muscles• Recognize types of muscular tissues and the

difference between them• Recognize the relation between structure and

function of various muscular tissues

Tissues • Four fundamental tissues are recognized:– Epithelial tissue– Connective tissue– Muscular tissue– Nervous tissue

Muscle Tissue• Characteristics– Cells are referred to as fibers– Contracts or shortens with force when stimulated

Special functional characteristics• Contractility– Only one action: to shorten– Shortening generates pulling force

• Excitability– Nerve fibers cause electrical impulse to travel

• Extensibility– Stretch with contraction of an opposing muscle

• Elasticity– Recoils passively after being stretched

Muscle function• Providing movement• Maintaining posture• Stabilizing joint • Generating heat

Muscle Tissue Types• Skeletal:– attached to bones

• Cardiac:– muscle of the heart

• Smooth:– muscle associated with tubular structures and

with the skin

Skeletal muscle – Blood supply

Skeletal Muscle• Nucleii are in periphery of cells, just under cell

membrane

Skeletal Muscle• A bands (dark-stained)• I bands (light-stained)• Z lines

A bands

I bands

Skeletal Muscle

Skeletal Muscle

Skeletal Muscle Tissue

Figure 4.14a

Cardiac Muscle Tissue

Figure 4.14b

Cardiac Muscle Tissue

Cardiac Muscle Tissue

Cardiac Muscle Tissue

Smooth Muscle Tissue

Smooth Muscle Tissue

Smooth Muscle Tissue

Smooth Muscle Tissue

Smooth Muscle Tissue

Skeletal Muscle• Voluntary movement• Long and cylindrical• Transverse striation• Each fiber is multi-nuclear

(multinucleated cells – embryonic cells fuse)• 40% of body weight

Skeletal Muscle

Smooth Muscle• Long, spindle shape• Not striated• Single nucleus• Involuntary movement• Internal organs

Smooth Muscle

Cardiac Muscle• Striations• Involuntary• One nucleus– Deep center

• Heart muscle

Cardiac Muscle

Similarities…• Their cells are called fibers because they are

elongated• Contraction depends on myofilaments– Actin– Myosin

• Plasma membrane is called sarcolemma– Sarcos = flesh– Lemma = sheath

Skeletal Muscle• Covering layers– Epimisium: surrounds the whole muscle– Perimesium: surrounds a muscle fascicle – Endomesium: surrounds each muscle fiber

Skeletal MuscleEpimysium

surrounds whole muscle

Epimysium surrounds whole

muscle

Skeletal Muscle

Perimysium is around fascicle

Perimysium

Skeletal Muscle

Endomysium is around each muscle fiber

Endomysium

Some sites showing animations of muscle contraction

• http://entochem.tamu.edu/MuscleStrucContractswf/index.html

• http://www.brookscole.com/chemistry_d/templates/student_resources/shared_resources/animations/muscles/muscles.html

Skeletal muscle• Fibers (each is one cell)

have striations• Myofibrils are

organelles of the cell: these are made up of filaments

• Sarcomere– Basic unit of contraction– Myofibrils are long rows

of repeating sarcomeres– Boundaries: Z discs (or

lines)

This big cylinder is a fiber: 1 cell

-an organelle

Myofibrils• Made of three types of filaments (or

myofilaments):– Thick (myosin)– Thin (actin)– Elastic (titin)

______actin_____________myosin

titin_____

• Depending on the distribution and interconnection of myofilaments a number of "bands" and "lines" can be distinguished in the sarcomeres :

• I-band - actin filaments,• A-band - myosin filaments which may overlap

with actin filaments,• H-band - zone of myosin filaments only (no

overlap with actin filaments) within the A-band,• Z-line - zone of apposition of actin filaments

belonging to two neighbouring sarcomeres • M-line - band of connections between myosin

filaments.

Sliding Filament Model__relaxed sarcomere__ _partly contracted_

fully contracted

“A” band constant because it is caused by myosin, which doesn’t change length

Sarcomere shortens because actin pulled towards its middle by myosin cross bridges

Titin resists overstretching

Another pic

EM (electron microscope): parts of 2 myofibrils

Labeled and unlabeled

• Sarcoplasmic reticulum is smooth ER– Tubules surround myofibrils– Cross-channels called “terminal cisternae”– Store Ca++ and release when muscle stimulated to contract– To thin filaments triggering sliding filament mechanism of contraction– T tubules are continuous with sarcolemma, therefore whole muscle (deep

parts as well) contracts simultaneously

Neuromuscular Junction

Motor neurons innervate muscle fibersMotor end plate is where they meetNeurotransmitters are released by nerve signal: this initiates calcium ion release and muscle contraction

Motor Unit: a motor neuron and all the muscle fibers it innervates (these all contract together)•Average is 150, but range is four to several hundred muscle fibers in a motor unit•The finer the movement, the fewer muscle fibers /motor unit•The fibers are spread throughout the muscle, so stimulation of a single motor unit causes a weak contraction of the entire muscle

Types of skeletal muscle fibers• Fast, slow and intermediate• Whether or not they predominantly use oxygen to

produce ATP (the energy molecule used in muscle contraction)– Oxidative – aerobic (use oxygen)– Glycolytic – make ATP by glycolysis (break down of

sugars without oxygen=anaerobic) • Fast fibers: “white fibers” – large, predominantly

anaerobic, fatigue rapidly (rely on glycogen reserves); most of the skeletal muscle fibers are fast

• Slow fibers: “red fibers” – half the diameter, 3X slower, but can continue contracting; aerobic, more mitochondria, myoglobin

• Intermediate: in between

• A skeletal muscle contracts when its motor units are stimulated

• Amount of tension depends on1. the frequency of stimulation2. the number of motor units involved

• Single, momentary contraction is called a muscle twitch

• All or none principle: each muscle fiber either contracts completely or not at all

• Amount of force: depends on how many motor units are activated

• Muscle tone– Even at rest, some motor units are active: tense the

muscle even though not causing movement: “resting tone”

• Muscle hypertrophy– Weight training (repeated intense workouts): increases

diameter and strength of “fast” muscle fibers by increasing production of• Mitochondria• Actin and myosin protein• Myofilaments containing these contractile proteins• The myofibril organelles these myofilaments form

– Fibers enlarge (hypertrophy) as number and size of myofibrils increase[Muscle fibers (=muscle cells) don’t increase in number but increase in diameter producing large muscles]

• Muscle atrophy: • loss of tone and mass from lack of stimulation– Muscle becomes smaller and weaker

Note on terminology: in general, increased size is hypertrophy; increased number of cells is hyperplasia

Cardiac muscle

• Bundles form thick myocardium

• Cardiac muscle cells are single cells (not called fibers)

• Cells branch• Cells join at intercalated discs• 1-2 nuclei in center• Here “fiber” = long row of

joined cardiac muscle cells• Inherent rhythmicity: each cell!

(muscle cells beat separately without any stimulation)

Intercalated disc__________

Smooth muscle

•Muscles are spindle-shaped cells•One central nucleus•Grouped into sheets: often running perpendicular to each other•Peristalsis•No striations (no sarcomeres)•Contractions are slow, sustained and resistant to fatigue•Does not always require a nervous signal: can be stimulated by stretching or hormones

6 major locations: 1. inside the eye 2. walls of vessels 3. respiratory tubes 4. digestive tubes 5. urinary organs 6. reproductive organs