Final answer:
The muscle tissue surrounding the intestines and blood vessels is smooth muscle, which is involuntary and not striated. Smooth muscle cells have a single nucleus and control functions like food movement and blood flow regulation.
Step-by-step explanation:
Type of Muscle Tissue in Intestines and Blood Vessels
The type of muscle tissue that surrounds the intestines and blood vessels is smooth muscle. Unlike skeletal and cardiac muscle tissues that appear striated, smooth muscle tissue is not striated because its cells are arranged in sheets. This muscle type is found within the walls of hollow organs such as the stomach and intestines, as well as around passages, including blood vessels. The contractions of smooth muscle are involuntary, meaning they cannot be consciously controlled. These contractions play a critical role in moving food through the digestive system and controlling the flow of blood through the circulatory system.
Smooth muscle cells are unique in that they have a single nucleus and possess the ability to contract without voluntary input, functioning under the control of the autonomic nervous system. This is in contrast to skeletal muscle, which is controlled voluntarily and is responsible for locomotion, and cardiac muscle, which is found only in the heart and is involved in pumping blood.