MUSCLE
HISTOLOGY
M.MANJU BHASHINI
Dept of Anatomy , CHRI.
Muscle - Introduction
Responsible for
Movement of body
Change in size & shape of organs
Primary role - Contraction
Classification
Skeletal
muscle
Striated
Muscle
Visceral
Based on
skeletal
presence of
muscle
cross
striations
Non striated Smooth
muscle muscle
Skeletal muscle
Closely related to bony skeleton
Transverse striations present
Voluntary muscle
Cardiac muscle
Exclusively present in the heart
& great veins
Striations present
Involuntary - controlled by
autonomic nervous system
Smooth muscle
In walls of hollow viscera, blood
vessels
Non-striated
Involuntary – controlled by
Autonomic nervous system &
hormones
Skeletal muscle
Multinucleate syncytium
Muscle cell – Muscle fibre
Several myoblast fuse to form a fibre
Long cylindrical in shape
Nuclei elongated, lie along periphery of
muscle fibre
Cell membrane – Sarcolemma
Cytoplasm (Sarcoplasm) – filled with
numerous longitudinal fibres -
Myofibrils
In addition to
myofibrils,
sarcoplasm
also contains
cell
organelles,
number of
mitochondria
& glycogen
Connective tissue framework
of muscle
Connective Tissue
covering
Endomysium – covers
individual muscle fibre
Perimysium – covers
muscle fasciculus
Epimysium – covers the
entire muscle
At the end of muscle
continues as tendon
Passage for blood
vessles & nerves
Based on morphological, histochemical and
biochemical characteristics, skeletal muscle fibers
ar of 2 types
Type I or Red fibres– slow and sustained
contraction.
Small in size.
Rich in sarcoplasm containing myoglobin,
mitochondria and cytochromes
Type II or White fibres – rapid discontinuous
contraction.
Large in size
Sarcoplasm contains less myoglobin, mitochondria
and cytochromes
Intermediate
Ultra structure of skeletal
muscle
Each myofibril is made up of fine
myofilaments – ACTIN & MYOSIN
– made up of proteins
Actin
Made up of two subfilaments
twisted around each other
Subfilament made up of
chain of globular molecules
Globular molecules – ‘G’
actin
Chain formed – ‘f’ actin
Special proteins in filament-
Tropomyosin & Troponin
Myosin
Made up of large no of myosin
molecules
Each myosin molecule is made of
2 units, each unit having a head
& a tail.
Tails coiled over each other &
head projects outwards
Each myosin filament is a bundle
of tails of such molecules
Other proteins:Actinin,
Myomesin, Titin, Desmin
Contracted & Relaxed states of muscle fibres
Sarcoplasmic reticulum
In the intervals between myofibrils,
sarcoplasm contains an elaborate system of
tubules – Sarcoplasmic reticulum
Seen at junction between ‘A’ & ‘I’ bands
Made up of 3 closely connected tubules –
Muscle triad
Function:Releases Ca++ during muscle
contraction & takes away excess Ca++
during musccle relaxation
Innervation of Skeletal
muscle
Neurovascular hilus – site at
which nerve & vessels enter a
muscle
Hilus usually seen at the origin,
than at insertion
Nerve fibres supplying a skeletal
muscle are axons arising from
large neurons in the anterior
grey column of spinal cord
Muscle spindle
All striated muscle
contain
encapsulated
proprioceptor
called as muscle
spindle.
A fluid filled space
with few long
muscle fibers and
some short thin
fibers (intrafusal
fibers)
Surrounded by
connective tissue
septa.
Skeletal muscle L.S.
Skeletal muscle L.S.&
T.S.
Skeletal muscle T.S.
Cardiac muscle
Striated, similar to
skeletal muscle
Similarities
Made up of elongated
fibres with numerous
myofibrils
Myofibrils also show
striations – ‘A’, ‘I’, ‘Z’,
‘H’ bands seen
Connective framework
& capillary network
Actin & Myosin
filaments
Sarcoplasmic reticulum
& mitochondria present
DIFFERENCES BETWEEN
CARDIAC & SKELETAL MUSCLE
Cardiac muscle
Not strictly parallel, branch ,
anastomose & form network
Not multinucleated, it is chain of
cardiac myocytes, each having its
own nucleus
Nucleus – central
Less prominent sarcoplasmic reticulum
Only 2 tubules – dyad
At junctions between adjoining
myocytes – dark stained transverse
lines – intercalated discs – made up of
cell membranes of adjacent myocytes &
dense cytoplasm with myofibrils
embedded in it
Physiological syncytium
Cardiac muscle
Cardiac muscle
Smooth muscle
Non-striated,
involuntary, plain
muscle
Spindle shape
Nucleus – oval ,
central
Arranged in bundles
to form layers
Indistinct longitudinal
striations
Autonomic nerve
supply
Delicate myofilaments
Smooth muscle
Distribution
Walls of hollow viscera- GIT,
Urinary bladder, Uterus
Walls of blood vessels, bronchi,
ureters, ductus deferens, uterine
tube, ducts of glands
Muscle fibres of iris
Arrector pilorum muscle of skin
Dartos muscle of scrotum
Other contractile cells
Myoepithelial cells
Myofibroblasts
Pericytes
Clinical correlations
Hypertrophy
Atrophy
Hyperplasia
Regeneration
Constriction of bronchi – Asthma
Smooth muscle spasm –
Intestinal colic, biliary colic,
Ureteric colic
Rigor mortis
Myasthenia gravis
Identify
