Muscle Tissue

Branching striated fibres with central nuclei and intercalated discs

A memory aid for identifying cardiac muscle microscopically.

Cardiac muscle is a functional syncytium with a long refractory period and cannot tetanise

A memory aid for the differences between cardiac and skeletal muscle.

A band stays the same, I band and H zone shorten

A mnemonic for the bands of the sarcomere and which shorten on contraction.

Type I slow oxidative, type IIa fast oxidative, type IIx fast glycolytic

A memory aid for the differences between slow and fast muscle fibres.

A band is dark and constant, I band is light and shortens

A memory aid for the bands and lines of the sarcomere.

Filaments slide past each other without changing length, powered by ATP

A memory aid for the cross-bridge cycle of muscle contraction.

Calcium acts through calmodulin and myosin light chain kinase, not troponin

A memory aid for how smooth muscle differs from skeletal muscle.