UNIT 1.

3 cont

MUSCLE TISSUE

Mrs Mweemba Mutalife . F

 Objectives
By the end of the lecture,
learners should be able to;
Define muscle tissue
Describe the characteristics of
muscle tissues
Discuss the types of muscle
tissues
Introduction
Muscle tissue is the fourth basic
tissue type
Allmuscle cells are of mesodermal
origin
differentiate by a gradual process of
cell lengthening with abundant
synthesis of the myofibrillar proteins
actin and myosin.
 cont..
Muscle cells function as
multicellular contractile units
actin microfilaments and associated
proteins generate the forces necessary
for the muscle contraction, which drives
movement
contraction is caused by the sliding
interaction of thick myosin filaments
along thin actin filaments in all muscles.
 Cont...
Some cells function as single
cell contractile units, e.g.
◦myoepithelial cells (in
glands),
◦pericytes (surround blood
vessels)
◦myofibroblasts (scar
formation)
Muscle properties
All muscle cells share several
properties:
Contractility ability of muscle
cell to forcefully shorten
Excitability ability to respond to
stimuli
Extensibility ability of muscle to
extend when stretched
Elasticity ability of a muscle to
return to original structure when
 Terminologies
certainmuscle cell organelles
have special names such as;
Cytoplasm – sarcoplasm
Smooth endoplasmic reticulum -
sarcoplasmic reticulum
Plasmalemma - Sarcolemma
 Types of muscles
3 types
distinguished based on
morphological and functional
characteristics
◦ skeletal
◦ cardiac
◦ smooth
each structural type is adapted to
its physiological role
 Characteristics of each
muscle
Skeletal Cardiac Smooth
-bundles very long, -has cross-striations -fusiform cells
-multinucleated cells -elongated, branched -lack striations
-nucleus peripherally cells - nucleus centrally
located -intercalated discs located
-cross-striations - nucleus centrally
located

-contraction is quick, -Contraction is -have slow, weak

forceful, involuntary, involuntary
-under voluntary -vigorous, and contractions
control -rhythmic.
-resistant to fatigue
-abundant mitochondria
Skeletal (striated) Muscle
Associated with the skeleton
moves the skeleton and organs
i.e. eye and tongue.
Voluntary muscle
Arrangement of contractile
proteins form cross striations -
striated muscle
Contractions are fast and forceful
 Skeletal Muscle cont..
Consists
of muscle fibres
Long cylindrical multinucleated cells
◦ diameter; 10 to 100 µm, length up-to 35cm
Multinucleation results from fusion of
embryonic mononucleated myoblasts
(muscle cell precursors)
Progenitor cells called muscle satellite
cells remain adjacent to most fibres
Nuclei are found at the periphery of the
cell under the sarcolemma
 Muscle development
During embryonic muscle
development, mesenchymal
myoblasts fuse, forming myotubes
with many nuclei.
 Myotubes then further differentiate
to form striated muscle fibers.
Myotubes synthesize the proteins
to make up myofilaments
Elongated nuclei are found
Skeletal Muscle cell
 Cont…
a characteristic nuclear location
unique to skeletal muscle fibers/
cells.
 A small population of reserve
progenitor cells called muscle
satellite cells remains adjacent to
most fibers of differentiated
skeletal muscle.
Satellite cells proliferate and
produce new muscle fibers
following muscle injury.
Cont…
variation in diameter of muscle
fibers depends on factors such as
the;
◦ specific muscle
◦ age, gender
◦ nutritional status, and
◦ physical training of the individual
Organisation of a skeletal muscle
Epimysium; external sheath of
thick dense CT surround entire
muscle
 continuous with fascia and the
tendon binding muscle to bone
◦ the septa extends inwards carrying
along blood vessels, lymphatics and
nerves
Organisation cont..
 Cont…
Perimysium: thin dense CT surround
each bundle of muscle fibres called the
fascicle
Each fascicle form a functional unit
Nerves, blood vessels, and lymphatics
penetrate the perimysium to supply each
fascicle

Endomysium; delicate layer of reticular

fibres and scattered fibroblasts surround
external lamina of individual muscle fibre
Cont…
CT present helps to transmit
mechanical forces generated by
contracting muscle cells
individual muscle cells do not extend
from one end of a muscle to the other
Some skeletal muscles taper at their
ends,
where the epimysium is continuous
with the dense regular connective
tissue of a tendon at myotendinous
junctions
Myotendinous junction
Histological appearance
Striations
Multinucleated on
the peripheral
Long cylindrical
cells
Basement
membrane
Organisation within muscle
fibers
Longitudinally sectioned ms fibre
shows cross-striation of
alternating light and dark
bands
Dark bands- A bands
(anisotropic)
Light bands- I band (isotropic do
not alter polarised light)
Organisation cont..
I band is bisected by a dark transverse
line Z disc
Sarcoplasm contains long cylindrical
filaments called myofibrils
Myofibrils consists of an end to end
repetitive arrangement of sarcomere
Sarcomere is the functional subunit of the
contractile apparatus
Sarcomere extend from Z disc to Z disc
Thick
and thin myofilaments composed of
myosin and F actin
Innervation
 Skeletal muscles – motor nerves
 Innervation
of single muscle fibres by single motor
neurons provides precise control of muscle activity
 Each axonal branch forms a dilated termination
situated within a trough on the muscle cell
surface.
 This
synaptic structure is called the motor end
plate (MEP), or Neuromuscular Junction
(NMJ)
 Axon + muscle fibers= Motor Unit
 neurotransmitter is acetylcholine.
Cardiac muscle

the mesoderm cells of the primitive

heart tube align into chainlike arrays
cells form complex junctions
between interdigitating processes
Cells within a fiber often branch and
bind to cells in adjacent fibers
Exhibit a cross-striated banding
pattern.
possesses only one (or two)
centrally located nucleus
Characteristics
A unique and distinguishing
characteristic is the presence of
dark-staining transverse lines
(intercalated discs) that cross
the chains of cardiac cells at
irregular intervals
intercalated discs represent the
interface between adjacent
muscle cells and contain many
junctional complexes

Histological view
 Junctional complexes
Transverse regions of these step-like discs
have many;
◦ desmosomes and
◦ fascia adherentes
together these serve to bind cardiac muscle
cells firmly together to prevent their pulling
apart under constant contractile activity
Longitudinal oriented portions of each disc
have many;
◦ gap junctions
providing ionic continuity between cells
serve as “electrical synapses”
Organisation of cardiac ms

Structure and function of the

contractile proteins in cardiac cells are
essentially the same as in skeletal
muscle
T-tubules are more numerous and
larger
Sarcoplasmic reticulum is less
abundant
Cardiac
muscle cells contain
numerous mitochondria
 Cont..
Contractions
are intrinsic and
spontaneous.
Impulses for the rhythmic contraction are
initiated, regulated and coordinated by
nodes.
rateof contraction is modified by
autonomic innervation of the nodes of
conducting cells
sympathetic nerve supply accelerate
parasympathetic supply decrease the
frequency of the impulses
 Smooth muscle

 Also called visceral muscle.

 Specialised for slow, steady contraction.
 Cells
are relatively small with a single
elongated nucleus, centrally located.
 Elongated,spindle shaped (Fusiform) cells
with tapered ends
 May be bifurcated occasionally.
 Fibersare bound together in irregular branching
fasciculi
 Non striated
 Basal lamina
Cont…
All cell are linked by gap junctions
short membrane invaginations,
called caveolae, are often frequent
at the smooth muscle cell surface.
Caveolae contain several pumps
and ion channels
serve to organize proteins
signaling calcium release at
myofibrils
lack T tubules
Organisation
The characteristic contractile activity of smooth
muscle is generated by myofibrillar arrays of
actin and myosin
organized differently from those of striated
muscles.
bundles of thin and thick myofilament criss cross
obliquely through the cell.
Myosinfilaments have a less regular arrangement
among the thin filaments and fewer cross bridges
actin filaments lack troponin,
instead use calmodulin and Calcium in the
contraction mechanism.
Innervation
 smoothmuscle contraction is most often
spontaneously
 itsnerve supply serves primarily to modify activity
rather than to initiate it
 Contraction control involve;
◦ autonomic nerves,
◦ a variety of hormones and similar substances,
◦ local physiologic conditions such as the degree of
stretch
 receives
both adrenergic and cholinergic nerve
endings that
 act antagonistically, stimulating or depressing its
activity
Regeneration of Muscle
Tissue
three types of adult muscle have different
potentials for regeneration after injury
In skeletal ms source of regenerating cells
is the mesenchymal satellite cells that
lies within the external lamina of each
mature muscle fiber
After injury the quiescent satellite cells
become activated, proliferate and fuse to
form new skeletal muscle fibers
regenerative capacity is limited
occurring less well after major muscle
trauma.
Cont..
Cardiac muscle lacks satellite
cells
shows very little regenerative
capacity beyond early childhood.
Defects or damage (eg, infarcts)
to heart muscle are generally
replaced by;
◦ proliferating fibroblasts and growth
of connective tissue, forming
myocardial scars.
Cont..
Smooth muscle, composed of
simpler, smaller, mononucleated cells,
is capable of a more active
regenerative response.
After injury, viable smooth muscle
cells undergo mitosis and replace the
damaged tissue
Contractile pericytes from the walls
of small blood vessels participate in
the repair of vascular smooth muscle
Applied anatomy

Rigors mortise
Myasthenia gravis
Defects of mitochondria
Dystrophy
Myasthenia
gravis is an autoimmune disease
characterised by progressive muscular
weakness caused by reduction in the
number of functionally active
acetylcholine receptors at the
neuromuscular junction.
This reduction is caused by binding of
the circulating antibodies to the
acetylcholine receptors, thereby
preventing the effective nerve muscle
communication.
Duchenne muscular
dystrophy (DMD)
isa hereditary disease of skeletal
muscle, which usually affects males.
This disease is due to mutation of a
gene responsible for formation of
protein dystrophin on the inner
surface of sarcolemma.
The skeletal muscle becomes
progressively weak from early
childhood and by adolescence the
person becomes immobile.
Clinical anatomy

Hypertrophy is the process, characterized

by increased cell volume
Hyperplasia is the tissue growth by an
increase in the number of cells
Ischemia or tissue damage due to lack
of oxygen when coronary arteries are
occluded by heart disease
Benign tumors called leiomyomas
commonly develop from smooth muscle
fibers but are seldom problematic
 Activity
1. State the types of muscle tissue
2. Describe the characteristics of
each type of muscle
3. Discuss the junctional
complexes found in cardiac
muscle
4. Compare and contrast the
regenerative capacities of each
type of muscle tissue
5. Outline the nervous innervation
Twalumba