SKELETAL MUSCLE

Skeletal muscle is attached to the bony skeleton across joints.

Its fibres are large, multinucleate, cylindrical cells, 10-80 µm

in diameter, often running the length of the muscle. They have a

characteristic, cross-striated appearance, and hence are termed

striated muscle. They contract and relax rapidly, only in

response to neural activation.

Intact

muscle

fibre

Scanning EM

of a freeze

fractured fibre.

O indicates the outer

sarcolemma;

I, the inner structure.

Note the myofibrils

                                                                                                              The banding pattern (striations) seen in the fibres and in the myofibrils is 

                                                                                                              due to the arrangement in the fibre, of overlapping sets of myofilaments.

                                                                                                                                A few striated muscles serve as sphincters.

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