MUSCULAR TISSUE Meaning and
Definition
-
Muscular tissue refers to the specialized tissue in the bodies of animals that is responsible for movement, stability, and support. It is one of the four primary types of tissue found in animals, alongside epithelial, connective, and nervous tissue. Muscular tissue is composed of cells called muscle fibers or myocytes, which contain contractile proteins that enable the tissue to exert force and generate movement.
There are three types of muscular tissue: skeletal muscle, smooth muscle, and cardiac muscle. Skeletal muscle is the most abundant type and is attached to bones by tendons, responsible for voluntary movement and providing stability to the skeleton. It is characterized by its striated appearance, with alternating light and dark bands called sarcomeres. Smooth muscle is found in the walls of organs, blood vessels, and the digestive system. It lacks striations and is responsible for involuntary movements, such as peristalsis. Finally, cardiac muscle is found only in the heart, and it is responsible for pumping blood throughout the body. It shares characteristics with both skeletal and smooth muscle, as it is striated but also contracts involuntarily.
Muscular tissue plays a vital role in maintaining posture, generating heat, protecting internal organs, and enabling movement and locomotion in animals. Without muscular tissue, animals would be unable to perform essential functions such as walking, running, grasping objects, or even breathing.
-
Muscle; voluntary muscular t. is composed of long cylindrical fibers, or muscle-cells (plasmodia), containing several nuclei and embedded in a thin ground substance; the fibers are marked by transverse lines, whence the term striated or striped muscle; involuntary muscular t. consists of long spindle-shaped uninuclear cells held together by a delicate connective-tissue membrane.
A practical medical dictionary. By Stedman, Thomas Lathrop. Published 1920.
Common Misspellings for MUSCULAR TISSUE
- nuscular tissue
- kuscular tissue
- juscular tissue
- myscular tissue
- mhscular tissue
- mjscular tissue
- miscular tissue
- m8scular tissue
- m7scular tissue
- muacular tissue
- muzcular tissue
- muxcular tissue
- mudcular tissue
- muecular tissue
- muwcular tissue
- musxular tissue
- musvular tissue
- musfular tissue
- musdular tissue
Etymology of MUSCULAR TISSUE
The word "muscular" comes from the Latin word "musculus", which means "little mouse". This term was used because the Romans thought that some muscles, when flexed, resembled small mice moving under the skin. The word "tissue" comes from the Latin word "tessera", meaning "a small square". In this context, it refers to a collection of similar cells working together to perform a specific function. Therefore, "muscular tissue" refers to a group of cells that form muscles, responsible for movement in the body.
Similar spelling words for MUSCULAR TISSUE
Infographic
Add the infographic to your website:
