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Histology 6 – Muscular tissue Dr. Fadhil H. Ahmed
Muscle Tissue
• It is one of the four basic tissues (the other three basic tissues are the epithelial,
connective and nervous tissues). It is a tissue specialised for contraction.
• Note: the nomenclature of some cell organelles in muscle is different from the one
in other cells. Plasmalemma is called sarcolemma, cytoplasm is called sarcoplasm
and endoplasmic reticulum becomes sarcoplasmic reticulum.
• Structurally, muscles are of 2 types: (a) Smooth muscles, which lack striations. (b)
Striated muscles, which have striations. Striated muscles are further of two types,
skeletal and cardiac muscles.
Skeletal Muscle
• Skeletal muscles have striations; hence they are also called striated muscles.
• They are mainly found in association with bones and are responsible for voluntary
contraction; hence they are also called voluntary muscles.
• They are innervated by somatic (motor) nerves.
• Each skeletal muscle envelops in a layer of connective tissue called epimysium
within it, are the muscle fibers arranged in bundles, each bundle is surrounding by
sheath called perimysium within the fasciculus, the muscle fibers covered by
sheath called endomysium.
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Histology 6 – Muscular tissue Dr. Fadhil H. Ahmed
• In L.S the muscle fiber show alternating dark A band (anisotropic), and light I bands
(isotropic).
• There is a Z line in the middle of I band.
• In general L.S section of skeletal muscle appears as cylindrical, parallel bundles with
multiperipheral nuclei.
• In C.S, the muscle fibers section appears polygonal or round shape with different
diameters with the peripheral nuclei.
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Histology 6 – Muscular tissue Dr. Fadhil H. Ahmed
Cardiac muscle
• It is striated, involuntary muscle, contract
rhythmically and automatically.
• It is found in muscular layer of heart
(myocardium)
• Cardiac muscle cells have a branched shape so that each cell is in contact with three
or four other cardiac muscle cells.
• Each cardiac muscle fiber contains a single nucleus and is striated, because it
appears to have light and dark bands when seen through a microscope.
• At the ends of each cell is a region of finger-like extensions of the cell membrane
known as intercalated disks.
• In L.S.: the myofibers appear branched, striated similar
to skeletal muscle. We can see the intercalated disk,
the cardiac myofibers have central, single nucleus.
• In C.S. the myofibers are irregular and smaller than the
section of skeletal muscles, and myofibrils are rough
more than myofibrils in skeletal muscle, central and
single or bi-nucleus in each fiber.
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Histology 6 – Muscular tissue Dr. Fadhil H. Ahmed
Smooth muscle:
• It is non-striated, involuntary muscle, with visceral distribution.
• It is present in the wall of digestive tract from midesophagus to anus, urinary and
genital system.
• L.S in smooth muscle, fibers are spindle shape, with flattened central mono-
nucleus.
• In C.S, the smooth muscle fibers appear different in size, it may appear wide and
narrow and may be with nucleus or without nucleus.
Regeneration of Muscle Tissue
■ Repair and regeneration can occur in
skeletal muscle because of a population of
reserve muscle satellite cells (or
Myosatellite can differentiated into
myoblast) that can proliferate, fuse, and
form new muscle fibers.
■ Cardiac muscle lacks satellite cells and has
little capacity for regeneration.
■ Regeneration is rapid in smooth muscle
because the cells/fibers are small and relatively less differentiated, which allow renewed
mitotic activity after injury.
Clinical Correlation:
1- Muscular dystrophy (MD): is a group of muscle diseases that results in weak and
breakdown of skeletal muscles over time. (e.g. Duchenne muscular dystrophy)
2- Myocardial infarction (MI): commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when blood flow
decreases or stops to a part of the heart, causing damage to the heart muscle.
3- Asthma: is the result of chronic inflammation of conducting zone of airways (most
especially the bronchi and bronchioles), which subsequently results in increased
contractibility of the surrounding smooth muscles.
