Mechanisms Of Cardiac Myocytes Flashcards
What is the myocardium composed of
Contractile tissue
Connective tissue
Fibrous frame
Specialised conduction system
What is a myocyte
This is the cell of the muscle of the heart
What does the pumping action of the heart depend on
The pumping action depends on the interactions made between the contractile proteins in the muscular walls of the heart
Where do the interactions occur in the muscular heart wall
Between the muscle fibrils
What do the interactions between the fibrils in the muscle wall do
The interactions between the fibrils in the muscle wall transforms the chemical energy from the ATP into mechanical work which can then move blood under a high pressure
What excites the myocardium of the heart
The electrical impulse which is sent from the sinoatrial node of the heart is which activates the contractile proteins in the muscle wall by signalling
What is excitation-contraction coupling
The electrical impulse is what excites the myocardium
The mechanical impulse is the contraction
Explain the process of excitation-contraction coupling
This process begins with the action potential depolarising the cell membrane, a passage of calcium ions from outside the cell and from internal stores into the cytosol to bind with the Ca2+ receptors within the myofibrils which creates a connection between the the fibrils which allows then to glide between each other and cause a contraction. The cell then uses enters by breaking a high energy phosphorus bond to remove the calcium from the myofibrils and put it back into the internal stores in the cytoplasm
Characteristics of a myofibril in the ventricle
Striated muscle
Has intercalated discs
Nucleus is present
What are features of a myocardial cell
Myofibrils
Mitochondria
Tubules of the cellular membrane
Reticulum which carries the free calcium
What fibrils are found in the myofibrils of the myocardial cell
Actin (thin fibrils)
Myosin (thick fibrils)
Where do the heads of the myosin sit on the sacromere
They sit at every level every 40 degrees
What do the heads of the myosin do
They heads of the myosin interact with a section of the actin
When can the heads of the myosin interact with the actin
When calcium arrives which links to troponin-C which lifts off the collection of troponin- T,I,C off the actin, the heads of the myosin can interact
What does the interaction between the myosin and the actin produce
This will produce shortening of the sarcomere which will produce a contraction of the muscle fibre
What is titin
This s protein which keeps the whole section of the sarcomere tight and together and stops it from stretching too much