Final answer:
The human body has three types of muscle tissues: skeletal, cardiac, and smooth. These differ in structure, control, nuclei count, striation, and location. Skeleton and cardiac muscles are striated and multi or binucleated, while smooth muscle is non-striated and uninucleated.
Step-by-step explanation:
The body contains three unique types of muscle tissue: skeletal muscle, cardiac muscle, and smooth muscle. Below is a chart that outlines the similarities and differences among these muscle types.
Similarities
- All three types are composed of muscle cells containing the proteins actin and myosin.
- Each type is essential for bodily functions and motion.
- All muscles begin the contracting process when actin is pulled by myosin.
Differences
Skeletal muscle:
- Striated appearance under the microscope due to the regular arrangement of actin and myosin.
- Voluntarily controlled by the nervous system.
- Composed of multinucleated fibers.
- Attaches to bones and facilitates movement of the skeleton.
Cardiac muscle:
- Striated appearance but cells are branched and interconnected, allowing the heart to contract as a unit.
- Involuntarily controlled.
- Contains one to two nuclei per cell.
- Exclusive to the heart, enabling it to pump blood.
Smooth muscle:
- Non-striated due to the irregular arrangement of actin and myosin.
- Involuntarily controlled.
- Single nucleus per cell.
- Found in internal organs and responsible for regulating the flow of substances within various systems of the body.