Muscle & Nervous Tissues

tissue

a collection of cells and cell products that perform specific, limited functions.

muscle tissue

specialized for contraction and produces all body movement.

neural tissue

carries electrical signals from one part of the body to another.

skeletal muscle

combined with connective tissues and neural tissue.

large body muscles responsible for voluntary movement. 

cardiac muscle

found only in the heart

circulated blood; maintains blood (hydrostatic) pressure

smooth muscle

found in walls of hollow, contracting organs (blood vessels; urinary bladder; respiratory, digestive, and reproductive tracts).

moves food, urine, and reproductive tract secretions.

striated muscle

muscle cells with a banded appearance.

nonstriated muscle

muscle cells that are smooth and not banded.

inflammation

the tissue’s first response to injury characterized by pain, redness, immobility, swelling, and heat.

regeneration

the process in which tissues or organs repair after injury.

divided into three or four sequential, yet overlapping phases: hemostasis, inflammatory, proliferative, and remodeling. 

neurons

nerve cells that perform electrical communication.

neuroglia

supporting cells that repair and supply nutrients to neurons.

apoptosis

the process of programmed cell death where cells are eliminated in a controlled manner, can be beneficial to the organism.

necrosis

the premature death of living cells or tissues, often detrimental/fatal and caused by external factors to the cell or tissue such as infections, toxins, or trauma.

dysplasia

abnormal development of cells or tissues, characterized by disordered growth of cells, which can vary from mild to severe.

metaplasia

the reversible replacement of one differentiated cell type with another mature differentiated cell type.

the transformation occurs in response to prolonged stress or injury (adaptive mechanism that aims to protect the tissue from further damage).

anaplasia

a condition where cells lose their specialized characteristics and revert to a more primitive, undifferentiated state.

the most extreme disturbance in cell growth. characteristic of highly malignant and metastatic cancers.

neoplasia

the abnormal growth of cells that can result in benign or malignant tumors.

atrophy

the partial or complete wasting away of a body part, involving reabsorption and breakdown of tissues involving apoptosis on a cellular level.

can be caused by a lack of use, disease, malnutrition, hormonal changes, or damage to the nerves that control the body part.

hypertrophy

the increase in size of cells, leading to an increase in the size of the organ.

hyperplasia

the increase in number of cells, potentially leading to enlargement of the organ.

mononucleated

muscle cells that have a single nucleus.

multinucleated

muscle cells that have multiple nuclei.

involuntary movement 

not under our conscious control which means we can’t make them contract when we think about it. 

voluntary movement

under our conscious control so we can move these muscles when we want to.

smooth muscle 

no striations, single nucleus, central nucleus, involuntary control.

skeletal muscle

striation from actin-myosin arrangement, long fibers; multiple peripheral nuclei, voluntary (somatic) control; moves bones.

cardiac muscle

striated, single central nucleus, involuntary, autonomic modulation, intercalated discs: rapid electrical coupling and strong adhesion.

cardiocytes

cardiac muscle cells, from branching networks connected at intercalated disks, are regulated by pacemaker cells.

nervous tissue

specialized for conducting electrical impulses, rapidly senses internal or external environment, processes information and controls responses.

inflammation/regeneration

how the cells restore homeostasis.