The muscle that forms the wall of the heart is called cardiac muscle. It is a type of involuntary muscle. Between the heart muscles are the connective tissue of the areola. It never gets bored.
Anatomy of Cardiac muscle
Cardiac cells appear long, cylindrical and branched. Its length is 0.8 mm and diameter is 12-15 micrometers.
- Sarcolemma: It is covered by a membrane called sarcolemma.
- Sarcoplasm: Cytoplasm of muscle is called sarcoplasm. It contains mitochondria.
- Nucleus: At the center of every cell is a nucleus. It performs biological functions of cells.
- Myofibrils: Myofibril fibers run along the length of the cell. Myofibrils have striated spots.
- Intercalated disc: Two adjacent sarcolemmas fuse to form a disc. One is called an intercalated disc. It is one of the identifying features of heart muscle.
Position Cardiac muscle
This muscle is found only in the heart wall. The muscle of the heart is called the myocardium. Myocardium has two layers. Epicardium and Endocardium. The outer layer is called epicardium and the inner layer is called endocardium.
Function of Cardiac muscle
This muscle keeps the blood flowing by contracting and expanding the heart. Cardiac muscle contains functional syncytium. That is, when one cell contracts, other cells contract.