What is the Histological Structure of Cardiac Muscle?
Cardiac muscle tissue is unique compared to other muscle types, such as skeletal and smooth muscle. The cardiomyocytes exhibit several distinguishing features:
- Striations: Like skeletal muscle, cardiac muscle cells have a banded appearance due to the orderly arrangement of actin and myosin filaments.
- Intercalated Discs: These specialized junctions connect cardiomyocytes end to end, facilitating mechanical and electrical coupling. Intercalated discs contain gap junctions, desmosomes, and adherens junctions, which enable coordinated contractions and maintain structural integrity.
- Central Nucleus: Cardiomyocytes typically have a single, centrally located nucleus, although binucleated cells can occasionally be observed.
- Branching Fibers: Cardiac muscle cells are branched, which aids in the multidirectional spread of electrical impulses.
