Feb 2, 2011 - Skeletal Muscle

Reminders: (None of these dates will change due to the weather!)

1. Don't forget your connective tissue quiz is on Friday 2/4.
2. The Histology Project is due Friday 2/4.
3. Muscle & Nervous tissue quiz next Tuesday 2/8.
4. Due to the many weather related issues we have had you may use the internet to research two of your histology drawings. Please include the following on your poster:
1. The url as a reference
2. The magnification (if possible)

Skeletal Muscle Tissue

                                                        http://clcpages.clcillinois.edu/home/bio567/pages/newtissues/skeletalmuscle.htm

Pictured above is a good example of skeletal muscle tissue.  It is important to note a few things about this tissue when trying to identify it:

• the cells are generally parallel and unbranched (distinguishes it from cardiac or smooth muscle tissue)
• each cell is multinucleated (distinguishes it from cardiac or smooth muscle tissue)
• the cells have striations (stripes) running perpendicular to the length of the cell (distinguishes it from smooth muscle tissue)

In a later unit we will investigate: some of the myths surrounding muscle/cell growth, how these cells produce force, what allows us to specify the strength of a muscle contraction, how training specificity changes a muscle, red vs. white fibers, and many more topics.

If you have any questions regarding muscle anatomy for our class in the future please post them in the comments section.

Fun Fact- It is a total myth (but commonly believed) that you can turn fat into muscle with training.