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ReneThe unique structure of cardiac muscle, with intercalated disks, allows for rapid transmission of electrical signals between cells and coordinated contraction of the heart. This specialized structure helps synchronize the beating of the heart, ensuring efficient pumping of blood throughout the body.
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What muscular system is made up of cell that are long thin and pointed?
The muscle system made up of cells that are long, thin, and pointed is the cardiac muscle system. Cardiac muscle cells are unique in structure and function, as they are found in the heart and have a branching, interconnected appearance. These cells contract rhythmically to pump blood throughout the body.
In what three ways can muscle cells be classified?
Muscle cells can be classified based on their structure as either skeletal, smooth, or cardiac muscle cells. These types of muscle cells differ in their appearance and function. Skeletal muscles are attached to bones and help with voluntary movements, smooth muscles are found in the walls of organs and blood vessels, and cardiac muscles are unique to the heart.
Where is the only place you can find cardiac muscles?
Cardiac muscle is a type of involuntary striated muscle found only in the walls of the heart. This is a specialized muscle that, while similar in some fundamental ways to smooth muscle and skeletal muscle, has a unique structure and with an ability not possessed by muscle tissue elsewhere in the body. Cardiac muscle, like other muscles, can contract, but it can also carry an action potential (i.e. conduct electricity), like the neurons that constitute nerves.Furthermore, some of the cells have the ability to generate an action potential, known as cardiac muscle automaticity (meaning the can and do beat on their own).
Is Heart made up of striated or non striated muscles?
Heart muscle is striated but not in the same way that skeletal muscle is. Cardiac muscle is a type of involuntary striated muscle found only in the walls of the heart.Cardiac and skeletal muscle are similar in that both appear to be striated in that they contain sarcomeres. In striated muscle, such as skeletal and cardiac muscle, the actin and myosin filaments each have a specific and constant length on the order of a few micrometers, far less than the length of the elongated muscle cell (a few millimeters in the case of human skeletal muscle cells).The filaments are organized into repeated subunits along the length. These subunits are called sarcomeres. The sarcomeres are what give skeletal and cardiac muscles their striated appearance of narrow dark and light bands, because of the parallel arrangement of the actin and myosin filaments.However, cardiac muscle has unique features relative to skeletal muscle. For one, the myocytes are much shorter and are narrower than the skeletal muscle cells, being about 0.1 millimeters long and 0.02 millimeters wide .Furthermore, while skeletal muscles are arranged in regular, parallel bundles, cardiac muscle connects at branching, irregular angles.Anatomically, the muscle fibers are typically branched like a tree branch. In addition, cardiac muscle fibers connect to other cardiac muscle fibers through intercalcated discs and form the appearance of a syncytium (continuous cellular material).These intercalcated discs, which appear as irregularly-spaced dark bands between myocytes, are a unique and prominent feature of cardiac muscle .
What are the specialized cells in the muscular system?
The specialized cells in the muscular system are called muscle fibers. These cells have unique structures that allow them to contract and generate force, enabling movement. Muscle fibers can be further classified into different types, such as skeletal, cardiac, and smooth muscle cells, each with specific functions and characteristics.
