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Concept
Smooth muscle
Summary
Smooth muscle is an involuntary non-striated muscle, so-called because it has no sarcomeres and therefore no striations (bands or stripes). It is divided into two subgroups, single-unit and multiunit smooth muscle. Within single-unit muscle, the whole bundle or sheet of smooth muscle cells contracts as a syncytium.
Smooth muscle is found in the walls of hollow organs, including the stomach, intestines, bladder and uterus. In the walls of blood vessels, and lymph vessels, (excluding blood and lymph capillaries) it is known as vascular smooth muscle. There is smooth muscle in the tracts of the respiratory, urinary, and reproductive systems. In the eyes, the ciliary muscles, iris dilator muscle, and iris sphincter muscle are types of smooth muscles. The iris dilator and sphincter muscles are contained in the iris and contract in order to dilate or constrict the pupils. The ciliary muscles alter the shape of the lens to focus on objects in accommodation. In the skin, smooth muscle cells such as those of the arrector pili cause hair to stand erect in response to cold temperature or fear.
Smooth muscle is grouped into two types: single-unit smooth muscle, also known as visceral smooth muscle, and multiunit smooth muscle. Most smooth muscle is of the single-unit type, and is found in the walls of most internal organs (viscera); and lines blood vessels (except large elastic arteries), the urinary tract, and the digestive tract. It is not found in the heart which has cardiac muscle. In single-unit smooth muscle a single cell in a bundle is innervated by an autonomic nerve fiber (myogenic). An action potential can be propagated through neighbouring muscle cells due to the presence of many gap junctions between the cells. Due to this property, single-unit bundles form a syncytium that contracts in a coordinated fashion making the whole muscle contract or relax. (such as the uterine muscles during childbirth).
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