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Cardiac Musclet PDF

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Cardiac muscle (also called heart muscle or myocardium ) is one of three types of vertebrate muscles,

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with the other two being skeletal and smooth muscles. It is an involuntary, striated muscle that
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constitutes the main tissue of the walls of the heart . The myocardium forms a thick middle layer
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between the outer layer of the heart wall (the epicardium) and the inner layer (the endocardium), with
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blood supplied via the coronary circulation . It is composed of individual heart muscle cells
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(cardiomyocytes) joined together by intercalated discs, encased by collagen fibers and other substances
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that form the extracellular matrix T.T

Cardiac muscle contracts in a similar manner to skeletal muscle, although with some important
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differences . Electrical stimulation in the form of an action potential triggers the release of calcium from
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the cell's internal calcium store, the sarcoplasmic reticulum . The rise in calcium causes the cell's
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myofilaments to slide past each other in a process called excitation contraction coupling.
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Diseases of the heart muscle Rare of major importance . These include conditions caused by a restricted
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blood supply to the muscle including angina pectoris and myocardial infarction, and other heart muscle
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diseases known as cardiomyopathies.

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