BIOL273 Study Guide - Final Guide: Myocyte, Caveolae, Blood Vessel
3 Dec 2018
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Document Summary
Walls of hollow organs and tubes not attached to bones of skeleton. Fewer in terms of % body weight, but much more important (regulate movement) Only studied recently: many types throughout animal kingdom, muscle fibre arrangement in many directions, electrical properties make stimulation difficult, also hormone controlled, conflicting stimuli after response. Arrangement of smooth muscle cells (2 ways: single unit cells coupled by gap junctions. Not necessary to electrically stimulate each individual fibres. Found on walls of internal organs (ex. intestine, blood vessels: multi unit no gap junctions. Multi unit type most of the time. Prior to labour, undergo remodelling form gap junctions. Allow for more efficient contractions during labour (synchornization of electrical signals) Differences between smooth and skeletal: whole muscle level, contraction of changes shape, not just length, develops tension (force) slowly, can maintain contraction longer without fatiguing, cellular level. Contain special vesicles called caveolae (invaginations of sarcolemma) that store ca2+ for cell signalling.
