Question

Give examples of muscles that are striated.

Answer 1

Striated muscles:

1. Muscles that can contract and relax independently are known as striated muscles.
2. The highly organized repeating unit of a striated muscle is known as a sarcomere.
3. A sarcomere is a functional unit composed of various myofilaments fibers made up of different contractile proteins that help in the contraction and relaxation of striated muscles.
4. They have a striped or striated appearance under a microscope.
5. The two types of striated muscles are Cardiac muscle and Skeletal muscle.

Skeletal muscles:

1. The musculature attached to the bones via tendon (connective tissue) is known as skeletal muscles.
2. They are voluntary muscles.
3. They make up about 30% to 40% of total body mass.
4. .They are made up of multinucleated fibers with a red and white appearance.
5. They have a diameter of about 20 to 100μm and are about 20cm long.
6. They are made up of a contractile protein known as myosin.
7. Under a microscope, they seem to be long and cylindrical.

Cardiac muscle:

1. They are present in the muscles of the heart.
2. The musculature of the thick middle layer of the heart (myocardium) is made up of cardiac muscles.
3. These muscles are involuntary, and hence cannot be controlled like skeletal muscles.
4. The cardiac muscles play an important role in the pumping of the heart.