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A myofibril (also known as a muscle fibril or sarcostyle) [1] is a basic rod-like organelle of a muscle cell. [2] Skeletal muscles are composed of long, tubular cells known as muscle fibers, and these cells contain many chains of myofibrils. [3] Each myofibril has a diameter of 1–2 micrometres. [3]
The muscle fibers belonging to one motor unit can be spread throughout part, or most of the entire muscle, depending on the number of fibers and size of the muscle. [2] [3] When a motor neuron is activated, all of the muscle fibers innervated by the motor neuron are stimulated and contract. The activation of one motor neuron will result in a ...
Many nuclei are needed by the skeletal muscle cell for the large amounts of proteins and enzymes needed to be produced for the cell's normal functioning. A single muscle fiber can contain from hundreds to thousands of nuclei. [25] A muscle fiber for example in the human biceps with a length of 10 cm can have as many as 3,000 nuclei. [25]
The unusual microscopic anatomy of a muscle cell gave rise to its terminology. The cytoplasm in a muscle cell is termed the sarcoplasm; the smooth endoplasmic reticulum of a muscle cell is termed the sarcoplasmic reticulum; and the cell membrane in a muscle cell is termed the sarcolemma. [9]
The number of muscle fibers within each unit can vary within a particular muscle and even more from muscle to muscle: the muscles that act on the largest body masses have motor units that contain more muscle fibers, whereas smaller muscles contain fewer muscle fibers in each motor unit. [1]
T-tubules (transverse tubules) are extensions of the cell membrane that penetrate into the center of skeletal and cardiac muscle cells.With membranes that contain large concentrations of ion channels, transporters, and pumps, T-tubules permit rapid transmission of the action potential into the cell, and also play an important role in regulating cellular calcium concentration.
Fusiform muscles have fibers that run parallel to the length of the muscle, and are spindle-shaped. [19] For example, the pronator teres muscle of the forearm. Unipennate muscles have fibers that run the entire length of only one side of a muscle, like a quill pen. For example, the fibularis muscles.
At each end of the muscle fibre, the surface layer of the sarcolemma fuses with a tendon fibre, and the tendon fibres, in turn, collect into bundles to form the muscle tendons that adhere to bones. The sarcolemma generally maintains the same function in muscle cells as the plasma membrane does in other eukaryote cells. [ 4 ]