10.7 Cardiac Muscle Tissue

contain intercalated discs

Cardiac muscles differ from skeletal muscles in that they ________.

Cardiac and skeletal muscle cells both contain ordered myofibrils and are striated. Cardiac muscle cells are branched and contain intercalated discs, which skeletal muscles do not have.

How are cardiac muscle cells similar to and different from skeletal muscle cells?

stop contracting

If cardiac muscle cells were prevented from undergoing aerobic metabolism, they ultimately would ________.

Cardiac Muscle Tissue

Tickle my pickle, oh and guess the name of this thing i guess...

An action potential could reach a cardiac muscle cell before it has entered the relaxation phase, resulting in the sustained contractions of tetanus. If this happened, the heart would not beat regularly.

What would be the drawback of cardiac contractions being the same duration as skeletal muscle contractions?

desmosome

cell structure that anchors the ends of cardiac muscle fibers to allow contraction to occur

autorhythmicity

heart's ability to control its own contractions

intercalated disc

part of the sarcolemma that connects cardiac tissue, and contains gap junctions and desmosomes