Cardiovascular---The Heart
ACTIVITY 4: Cardiac Muscle: Microscopic Structure
Page 5
Go to VB 29.7 Cardiac Muscle Tissue Histology; this section contains 2 slides, view both pages. Read
the intro paragraphs and study the labeled photos. Use Google images to find a slide of cardiac muscle
tissue. Examine the branching cells and look for intercalated discs. These features provide continuity to
cardiac muscle that is not present in other muscle types. While viewing cardiac muscle, you should also
identify the sarcolemmas, nuclei, and striations. Draw a field of view in the circle below. Describe
how cardiac muscle compares to skeletal muscle in:
Individual cell shape?
Number of nuclei per cell?
Presence of striations (possesses sarcomeres)?
Presence of intercalated discs?
What are intercalated discs?
they contain, and what is the function of each of these features?
1)
2)
What 2 special features do