The Properties, Functions and Properties of Smooth Muscles Assignment - 1

The Properties, Functions and Properties of Smooth Muscles - Assignment Example They play an important role, especially in the arterioles, by constricting or dilating the blood vessel thereby controlling the flow of blood. Smooth muscles are also crucial in bigger blood vessels, such as aorta, and enable them to withstand high pressure generated during systole or ventricular contraction. (Clark, 2005, p. 139) These are the muscles under voluntary control. Skeletal muscle is also sometimes referred to as striated muscle but this term should be avoided as cardiac muscle is also a striated muscle and leads to ambiguity. A cell of skeletal muscle is very long, up to 30cm in length, and has a cylindrical shape. The cross section size of these cells is about 10-100 micrometer. It is not surprising that cell of this length has multiple nuclei for support and survival. But these nuclei are not located at the center and rather aligned at the periphery. This is because the contractile components in the cell cytoplasm push these nuclei towards the call border. Skeleton muscles form bulk of a human body and perform various functions. They are essential for locomotion and to perform any movement of the body. Although, skeletal muscles are mostly under voluntary control they also take part in a reflex arc that does not involve the higher centers and, therefore, is an involuntary process. The contracti ons produced by skeletal muscles are forceful and quick as compared to the smooth muscle. (Clark, 2005, p. 139) Cardiac muscle is a specialized tissue perfectly adapted to perform its function. It is the only muscle that is found in the heart. A very special property of a cardiac muscle is that is can contract on its own which mean it does not require an external stimulation.