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A smooth muscle looks like an elongated spindle-shaped or fusiform cell under a light microscope. Each cell of the smooth muscle fibers contains a single elongated center nucleus. The diameter of the smooth muscle cells ranges from 5 to 20 micrometers.
Compared to skeletal muscle, smooth muscle cells are small. They are spindle shaped and have no striations. Instead, they have bundles of thin and thick filaments.
The smooth muscle cell is 3-10 µm thick and 20-200 µm long. The cytoplasm is homogeneously eosinophilic and consists mainly of myofilaments . The nucleus is located in the center and takes a cigar-like shape during contraction.
Smooth Muscle. Smooth muscle cells are spindle-shaped (fusiform), have a single, centrally located nucleus, and are under involuntary control. The uniform, nonstriated appearance gives rise to the name smooth muscle.
Microscopy: Use the image slider below to learn how to use a microscope to study smooth muscle tissue on a microscope slide of the small intestine. Tutorial : Use the hotspot image below to learn more about the characteristics of smooth muscle tissue.
Smooth muscle. Compared to skeletal muscle, smooth muscle cells are small. They are spindle shaped and have no striations. Instead, they have bundles of thin and thick filaments. Looking closer at skeletal muscle. All skeletal muscle fibres are not the same. They differ in structure and function, for example, in the speed they can contract.
Dense bodies can be observed under an electron microscope and appear dark. Another important structure is the calcium-containing sarcoplasmic reticulum, which aids in sustaining contraction. The shape of smooth muscle is fusiform, which is round in the center and tapering at each end.
Structure of Smooth Muscle. Smooth muscle fibres are elongated and spindle-shaped cells which taper at both ends. This distinctive shape, along with the presence of a single central nucleus, helps to identify it histologically. These fibres are thousands of times shorter than skeletal muscle fibres.
The ultrastructure of smooth muscle cells is seen in cross-section and longitudinal sections in EM 126 Smooth Muscle by transmission electron microscopy. Histology of smooth muscle in the small intestine - cross-section and longitudinal section.
Smooth muscles are made of small, elongated, uninucleated cells, embedded in abundant extracellular material with a large fibrous component (Figure 1): intercellular cooperativity and role of extracellular material are greater than in striated muscles.