Cardiac muscle

The properties of cardiac muscle are always changing as a result of sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous stimulation and pharmacological drugs that alter or stimulate molecular mechanisms in the heart. In order to understand the mechanisms of the heart, we must experiment with the heart by observing the properties of cardiac cells and formulate hypotheses for their observed response. The structure of cardiac muscle consists of myocardial cells which have a nucleus, contractile filaments (striations), several mitochondria and intercalated discs which contain gap junctions (Silverthorn, 2007). Surrounding the myocardial cells are t-tubules whereby electrical ions can flow into the cell membrane proteins and start action potentials (Silverthorn, 2007). Together, these structures give the heart its ability to contract and communicate with its cells in a regulated manner (Silverthorn, 2007).…

This rectangular shaped cell is the Cardiac Muscle cell. Each cell is relatively small, and has one nucleus (sometimes 2) They are connected by microscopic features of the cardiac muscle. This is known as the intercalated discs. These intercalated discs contain cell structures called desmosomes and gap junctions. Compared to skeletal muscle cells, these cells are Y shaped and are a lot shorter and wider. Desmosomes are thick patches in the cell membrane region, usually lying between two…

Cardiac Muscle fibres are long cylinder shaped cells that usually have one or two nuclei, they are centrally located within the cell. The end of the fibres are split into a number of small branches in which the ends of which connect to similar branches of adjacent cells giving a three dimensional cytoplasmic connection network throughout the tissue. In between the muscle fibres, there is a delicate connective tissue, similar to the endomysium of the skeletal muscle which supports the extremely…

• Muscle tissue: Cardiac and skeletal muscle Cardiac and skeletal muscles have very few similarities and many differences. Firstly cardiac muscles location is found in the heart and the skeletal muscle location is found all over the body in every single bone present in humans. The similarities of cardiac and skeletal to start with is that they are both striated muscle structured, but cardiac is lightly striated and skeletal is heavily striated. Now to describe the differences, initially…

I. INTRODUCTION HE versatility of muscles is a crucial factor for efficient animal locomotion. In combination with a high degree of force control muscles enable precise motions depending on the wanted action. Animal locomotion involves (a) fine motor skills like sneaking, grabbing and communication; (b) quick short term acceleration like catching prey; (c) very long-term movement patterns which need to be performed efficient like digesting, migration and sometimes even (d) avoiding motion by…

similarities and differences between skeletal, cardiac, and smooth muscle. Skeletal Muscles are attached to bones. Their functions include: produce skeletal movement, maintain posture and body position, support soft tissues, guard body entrances and exits, maintain body temperature, and store nutrients. They are striated muscles because of their appearances of having bands of actin and myosin that form the sarcomere which is located in the myofibrils. The skeletal muscle consists of it being…

The heart is one of the strongest muscles in the human body. It is mostly made up of cardiac muscle, which causes the contractions of the heart, or heartbeat. The cardiac muscle works constantly to pump blood throughout the body and is one of the three major types of muscle. The cells in the heart are closely connected so that they all beat at the same time, and they form the thick middle layer of the heart, in between the outer epicardium and the inner endocardium layers. There are two main…

functions and organs and also have their own fair share of problems. The muscular system composes of the tissues and organs that are used to exert a force, whether under voluntary or involuntary control. Muscles are composed of long, slender cells called fibers, and these fibers come in bundles with very few or countless amounts per bundle. Muscles move by either contracting or extending, which is directed by nerve impulses sent from the central nervous system. There are three main types of…

Section A “Selective Connexin43 Inhibition Prevents Isoproterenol-Induced Arrhythmias and Lethality in Muscular Dystrophy Mice” is a research paper that was conducted by Dr. Fraidenraich and his colleagues. Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) is a severe form of muscular dystrophy that is life threatening and associated with muscle degeneration. It affects many newborn males, meaning that it is caused by an X-linked mutation. This mutation leads to the absence of a very important protein called,…

Hello everyone as part of my PrinHealthSci project I read an article that was very captivating to me. As many of you may know, heart attacks are fatal occurrences that typically result in the death of part of a heart muscle. Recent studies at John Hopkins Medical Hospital have shown that a special sticky protein, gel that they created can help stem cells stay in or on rat hearts and restore their metabolism after transplantation. This discovery has given a new way and hope for researchers to…