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Where is striated muscle found (and why does it appear striated, but other kinds of muscle do not)?

User Dettorer
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Final answer:

Striated muscle is found in skeletal and cardiac muscle tissues, with their striated appearance due to the repeating bands of actin and myosin proteins. Smooth muscle does not appear striated because its cells are lined up in sheets rather than bundles. Skeletal muscle is responsible for voluntary movements, whereas cardiac muscle, which is also striated, is found in the heart and is involuntary.

Step-by-step explanation:

Striated muscle can be found in two major forms in the human body: skeletal muscle and cardiac muscle. These types of muscle tissue appear striated or striped because of how their cells are organized. In contrast to this, smooth muscle, which does not display striations, is arranged in sheets instead of bundles.

The striated appearance of skeletal muscle tissue arises from repeating bands of the protein actin and myosin that are present along the length of myofibrils. These alternating dark A bands and light I bands are repeated along the myofibrils, creating a banded pattern. The uniform alignment of myofibrils within the muscle cell amplifies this pattern, making the entire cell appear striated or banded.

Cardiac muscle, like skeletal muscle, is also striated due to the organized arrangement of its filaments into sarcomeres within the muscle fibers. However, cardiac muscle fibers are branched at irregular angles, in contrast to the parallel arrangement found in skeletal muscle, resulting in a different overall appearance between the two types of striated muscle tissue.

Skeletal muscle is under voluntary control and is primarily found in muscles that facilitate the movement of bones, while cardiac muscle, which is also striated, forms the majority of the heart muscle and is under involuntary control.

User Claes Wikner
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