Histology: Muscle Flashcards
1
Q
Define muscle tissue.
A
- Aggregates of specialized, elongated cells, arranged in parallel, that have primary role of contraction
- Voluntary locomotion (Skeletal Muscle)
- Heart Function (Cardiac Muscle)
- Involuntary Motility & Vasodilation/Vasocontriction (Smooth Muscle)
2
Q
Skeletal Muscle Cells
A
- Muscle fiber = muscle cell
-
Sarcolemma = plasma membrane
- T- tubules: (A-I Junction)
- Sarcoplasm = cytoplasm
-
Sarcoplasmic Reticulum = smooth ER
- Reservoir for calcium ions
- Terminal cisterna = expanded regions of SR adjacent to T tubules
- Triad = association of SR flanking t tubule
- Sarcomere = functional unit of muscle cell
3
Q
Skeletal Muscle Organization
A
- Myofilaments = actin & myosin organized into sarcomere
- Myofibrils = many sarcomeres end to end
- Muscle Fiber = collections of myofibrils
- Fascicles = bundles of muscle fibers
- Muscle = collections of fascicles enclosed within CT and attached to bone via tendon
4
Q
Connective Tissue of Muscle
A
- For transduction
- Contains blood vessels, nerve, lymphatics
-
Epimysium:
- Dense, irregular CT
- Surrounds entire muscle
-
Perimysium:
- Dense, irregular CT
- Surrounds fascicles
-
Endomysium:
- Loose (reticular fibers)
- Surrounds individual muscle fibers
5
Q
Skeletal Muscle LM
A
- Long, multinucleated cells
- Elongated nuclei located peripherally along fibers
- Striations evident in longitudinal section
6
Q
Devleopment of Skeletal Muscle
A
- Mesenchymal myoblats fuse to form myotubes with many nuclei
- Myotubes differentiate to muscle fibers
- Hypertrophy in response to increased load
Satellite Cells:
- Reserve progenitor cells
- Proliferates to form new muscle fibers following injury
- Limited regeneration capacity
7
Q
Sarcomere
A
Repetitive functional unit of contractile apparatus
-
Myosin Filaments = thick
- Occupy A Band
-
Actin Filaments = thin
- Occupy I Band
- Overlap myosin filaments
8
Q
Sarcomere Bands
A
A Band
- Anisotropic (dark) in polarized light
- Myosin filaments
- Overlap
I Band
- Isotropic (light) in polarized light
- Actin filaments
H Band
- Central region of A band
- Only myosin filaments
- Gets shorter when actin overlap myosin
M Line
- Center of A Band
- Thick filaments linked
Z Line
- Where thin filaments are linked
- Mark ends of sarcomere
9
Q
Myosin
A
- Thick Filaments
- Consists of a tail (anchored at M line) and a head (pointed towards outside of sarcomere)
- Head contains binding sites for actin and ATP
10
Q
Actin
A
- Double-stranded helix of actin monomers
- Regulatory proteins intertwined with actin strand:
-
Troponin:
- Ca2+ binding protein to initiate muscle contraction
-
Tropomyosin
- Sits in groove of actin filaments to block myosin binding sites
-
Troponin:
11
Q
Neuromuscular Junction
A
- Motor neuron contacts a muscle fibers
- Synaptic vesicles contain Acetylcholine (ACh)
- ACh receptors on junctional folds (increases surface area)
12
Q
Mechanism of Contraction
A
- Action Potential reaches fiber and ACh is released into synaptic cleft
-
ACh binds receptors on sarcolemma resulting in localized depolarization and activation of voltage-gated Na+ channels
- Results in widespread depolarization
- Depolarization of T tubules results in Ca2+ release from terminal cisternae of SR
-
Ca2+ binds troponin
- Troponin changes shape, moving tropomyosin
- Myosin head can bind actin to initiate cross-bridge cycle
- Myosin heads pivot to move thin filaments
-
ATP binds myosin head resulting in myosin head release
- Absence of ATP, results in sustained muscle contraction (e.g. rigor mortis after death)
- ATP hydrolyzed to ADP + Pi and myosin head resets
13
Q
Mechanism of Relaxation
A
- Ca2+ transported back into sarcoplasmic reticulum
- Tropomyosin moves back to re-cover myosin binding sites
- Filaments passively slide back to relaxed state
14
Q
Sarcomere Shortening
A
- A Band stays the same length during shortening
- H Zone gets smaller (completely disappears)
- I Band gets smaller (from actin/myosin overlap)
- Z discs moves closer together
15
Q
Skeletal Muscle Fiber Characterization
A
Characterized by:
- Speed of contraction
- Enzymatic Velocity (how quickly ATP broken down)
- Metabolic Profile (how cell makes ATP)
3 Types of Muscle Fibers:
-
Type I: Slow Oxidative Fibers
- Small red fibers
- Type IIa: Fast Oxidative-Glycolytic Fibers
- Type IIb: Fast Glycolytic Fibers