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Animal tissues. Muscle.

SMOOTH MUSCLE

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Smooth muscle
Smooth muscle: muscle layer of the small intestine.
Species: mouse (Mus musculus; mammal).
Technique: haematoxylin and eosin, 8 µm thick section, paraffin embedding.
The image is from small intestine.
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The smooth muscle of the small intestine is shown in this figure. In the upper part, the smooth muscle are observed in a transverse view, whereas in the lower part smooth muscle cells are oriented parallel to the section plane. Smooth muscle cells are fusiform, small in diameter, and with a nucleus adapted to the morphology of the cell. They are non branched cells. Unlike the skeletal and cardiac muscle cells, striations are not observed in the cytoplasm. This is because the cytoskeletal filaments, actin and myosin, are not arranged so regularly, but more scattered. That is why the cytoplasm shows a homogeneous pink staining.

More images

Smooth muscle
Smooth muscle of the stomach muscularis layer.
Smooth muscle
Smooth muscle in the small intestine: muscularis. Notice that there is smooth muscle in the mucosa layer as well.
Smooth muscle
Smooth muscle in the intestine mucosa, and in the muscularis layer.
Smooth muscle
Smooth muscle in the muscular layer of a bronchiole. Cells are oriented in longitudinal view (upper part) and in transverse view (lower part).
Smooth muscle
Smooth muscle in the muscular layer of a bronchiole, where the muscular layer is about one thick-cell layer.
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