Muscle and Nervous Tissues Human Anatomy & Physiology Muscle and Nervous Tissues

Muscle Tissue Specialized to contract and produce movement Because the cells are elongated to produce maximum contractions, they are called muscle fibers Three types Skeletal muscle Cardiac muscle Smooth muscle

Muscle Tissue Types Skeletal muscle Voluntarily controlled Connected to bones with dense connective tissues Cells are organized in layers and have internal, overlapping fibers called striations Cells have more than one nucleus Function: movement

Muscle Tissue Types Cardiac muscle No control = involuntary Found only in the heart Cells have striations Cells attached to other cardiac muscle cells at intercalated disks One nucleus per cell Function: to pump blood

Muscle Tissue Types Smooth muscle Involuntary control Makes up the walls of hollow organs No visible striations One nucleus per cell Function: Motility; peristalsis

Nervous Tissue Neurons and nerve support cells Irregularly shaped cells with long branches for communication Function: sends impulses from the CNS to other areas of the body and back

Tissue Repair and can heal, but there are exceptions. ● Most connective tissues are well vascularized and can heal, but there are exceptions. ● Tendons and ligaments have a poor blood supply, and cartilages are avascular. As a result, they heal very slowly when injured. Tissues that are replaced largely with scar tissue and are never “as good as new”: Cardiac muscle Nervous tissue within the brain and spinal cord